“You can’t worry what’s going on in your life when you’re painting.” Wise words from Penny Priest who we say a fond farewell to as she packs away her paints after running art sessions for over 20 years here at WLP. In that time, she’s helped hundreds of men and women suffering with mental health issues and for many years she worked closely with people from St Anne’s Hospital in Poole and more recently has supported many of our beneficiaries.
She says: “I never asked about anyone’s condition. The painting sessions were a creative time and I never criticized anyone’s work. I always found something positive to say. Many people discovered they had real ability and would carry on painting at home. For two hours you can be consumed in creative process with no distractions. That’s so good for the mind”.
We wish Penny a brilliant 80th birthday and cannot thank her enough for her generosity in sharing her talent combined with her kind and compassionate approach. Her sessions have made a real difference to people struggling to combat mental health. Our charity will miss her greatly.
This week sees the start of Volunteering Week 2022 – we have 52 volunteers here at our charity who support us in the work we do and help us to run our community cafe. As demand for our services continues to grow, we need more volunteers so if you can spare a few hours a week – we’d love to hear from you. Just follow the link below to find out more and how to get in touch.