Sandbanks Ferry Company employees have nominated Dorset Mind as their next annual charity
partner.
Dorset Mind, a local charity in Dorset, raises awareness of and challenges the stigma and inequality
of mental health, and encourages recovery from it by empowering people to develop resilience.
Sandbanks Ferry is partnering with Dorset Mind for Christmas 2020 and throughout 2021 to help
raise much needed funds and awareness of the charity among Ferry passengers and staff. The Ferry
Company will provide Dorset Mind with free on-board advertising space and the charity will also
collect donations during key weeks of the year, such as Mental Health Awareness Week in May and
World Mental Health Day in October, in addition to other activity.
To launch this partnership, the Sandbanks Ferry Company will once again offer free travel to all
passengers on Christmas Day, following the success of the initiative in 2019. Passengers who wish to
will be able to donate their toll fee to Dorset Mind via collection boxes on board the ferry on
Christmas Day.
Commenting on the new partnership with Dorset Mind, Mike Kean, Managing Director of Sandbanks
Ferry Company, said: “We are very pleased to be partnering this year with an amazing local charity
that has helped so many people over the years, and of course throughout 2020 with all the
challenges that COVID-19 has brought.
“It’s great to be able to do our bit to help such a worthy local cause, and we hope the free Christmas
Day travel will get their 2021 fundraising off to a great start.”
Commenting on the new partnership, Marianne Storey, CEO of Dorset Mind said: “Our new
partnership with Sandbanks Ferry Company offers us an exciting opportunity for 2021 – the chance
for us to raise awareness about mental health and the support services we provide locally, to the
ferry’s staff and passengers.
We’ve all seen our wellbeing affected this past year and we want to let people know that there is
help out there for them. Importantly, we also want to let them know what services are available and
how to access them at their time of need – we provide both 1-2-1 and group support locally and
never has it been more important.
Huge thanks to Mike and the Sandbanks Ferry employees for nominating us. We’re very much
looking forward to working alongside you and raising funds to help support people in Dorset.”
Sandbanks Ferry is also supporting Dorset Mind’s ‘Move Your Mind’ campaign, which encourages
people to get active for at least 30 minutes a day and raise money for the charity throughout
January.
Commenting on the ‘Move Your Mind’ campaign, Mike Kean added: “We hope lots of people will
take advantage of the ferry for Dorset Mind’s ‘Move Your Mind’ campaign. Dorset has such a
wonderful array of beaches and countryside for people to visit for their 30 minutes of daily activity
and the ferry is a great way to reach them.”
The Christmas Day ferry service will run half-hourly from 08:00 hours until 18:10 hours, leaving
Sandbanks on the hour and half hour, and from Shell Bay at 10 and 40 minutes past the hour. All
passengers will be able to enjoy free travel on the 25th December, including foot, car, bicycle, and
goods vehicles.
During the rest of the holiday period, the Sandbanks Ferry will operate a normal service timetable
from 7am to 11pm. Further timetable information can be found at:
http://www.sandbanksferry.co.uk/timetable.php.
The Ferry Company and its employees helped to raise almost £2,000 for its 2019/20 nominated
charity, Forest Holme Hospice in Poole, through the free Christmas Day travel initiative and other
activity throughout the year.
Visit the Sandbanks Ferry Company at www.sandbanksferry.co.uk, on Twitter at @sandbanksferry
and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sandbanksferry.
Register for Dorset Mind’s ‘Move Your Mind’ campaign and get active to improve your wellbeing at:
https://dorsetmind.uk/get-involved/move-your-mind/.