Charity spotlight: The Garden Friend
A Good Thing is an online platform that allows businesses to give things away to their local charities. Less to landfill, more to a good cause! The case study below is an example of the wonderful impact that can be made through these matches.
Charity: The Garden Friend
Location: Hillsborough, Northern Ireland
Sector: gardening, mental health
At A Good Thing, charities are what drive us forward. We were set up in order to boost brilliant UK charitable causes that are delivering powerful and much-needed work right across the country. We knew there can be a lot of wealth (and waste) sitting within businesses, and we also knew how great the need was within the UK charitable sector.
We currently have thousands and thousands of brilliant good causes registered with the A Good Thing platform, but we’d like to pick just one on this occasion to highlight: The Garden Friend, a charity dedicated to supporting mental health and physical wellbeing through the medium of gardening.
Who is The Garden Friend?
We caught up with Timothy Turner from the Northern Ireland-based charity (it’s located near Hillsborough), who told us a bit about its origins:
“At the heart of our work is our wellbeing garden, a safe and welcoming space where the most vulnerable members of our community are invited to grow, connect, and heal – regardless of their social background. In our garden, we cultivate fresh vegetables, fruit, cut flowers and herbs. More importantly, we use gardening, nature, and human connection as therapy. Through these activities, people discover new skills, rebuild confidence, and are encouraged to live their best lives.”
The charity grew out of Timothy’s own experience of mental health challenges, and its objectives are to combat isolation and loneliness. It provides a community of support and friendship, offering hope and also practical tools to disrupt harmful thoughts, reduce suicide risk, and promote resilience.
As Timothy says, “we strive to be more than a garden – we are a lifeline”.
The Garden Friend and A Good Thing in partnership
At the time of writing, Timothy has only been part of A Good Thing for a few weeks, but has already been matched twice. He says:
“It’s impressive and we have been so grateful. We have had two glass doors and door frames donated, together with some glass panels. We’ll use them as part of our current project to build a workshop and provide a compost toilet facility.”
We talked to Timothy about the sorts of things The Garden Friend is generally in need of:
“We need everything! Timber, sand, topsoil, straw, building materials of any kind, and shipping containers would be amazing. Shingle/stone/grit, trees, plants, tools, garden machinery, scaffolding poles, PPE, medical supplies – I don’t think we would refuse anything!”
The Garden Friend’s inspiring website talks about nurturing both people and plants, and about helping people to turn what may feel “broken” into something strong, purposeful, and positive. The charity is determined to create lasting change – to build a healthier, happier community.
The Garden Friend is committed to encouraging positive transformation in people’s lives, and currently works with a wide range of different people from its local community, as Timothy explained:
“We have 152 members and to be honest they come from all walks of life. Our regular volunteer members tend to be quiet, gentle people, who love being outdoors and connected with nature. We all have our own story to tell and feel this is a way of helping others in a way that is also helping ourselves.”
How to support The Garden Friend
We hope The Garden Friend will continue benefiting from what A Good Thing can offer for a long time to come. If your company has any of the items mentioned by Timothy above, please join A Good Thing and give some of the items they’re looking for away to the charity.
Visit The Garden Friend website
Visit the Facebook page for more information
