THE DPJ FOUNDATION, a charity supporting those in agriculture with poor mental health will be attending this year’s Anglesey Show on 16th & 17th August, with some unique activities to raise awareness, and support their confidential 24/7 support line ‘Share The Load’.
The charity will be joined by ‘Row4Gaz’, a team of friends training to row 130 miles from Holyhead to Dublin and back this Summer, to celebrate the life of their dear friend Gareth Parry Owen, who sadly took his own life in 2022. The team are determined to honour his adventurous spirit, raise awareness around poor mental health, and raise much-needed funds for The DPJ Foundation to support people silently struggling with their mental health.
The DPJ Foundation will be hosting family members of the Row4Gaz team on their show stand, as the rowers themselves hope to be starting their challenge in the early hours before the show. With an incredible amount of over £40,000 raised by the Row4Gaz team so far, they are hoping to provide a live stream, available to play on the stand, where supporters can cheer them on alongside The DPJ Foundation, as well as a rowing machine to see if anyone can “beat the rowers”.
Tudur Owen of Row4Gaz said “We are very excited about getting the challenge under way and after months of preparation we think there is a window of opportunity that coincidentally means we will be rowing during both days of the Anglesey show. Please come and visit us at the DPJ stand to see how we are getting on.”
Not only will there be insight on rowing at The DPJ’s stand, but there will also be insight on growing. Charity Manager Kate Miles is proud to work closely with ‘Cows On Tour’ an initiative to encourage those in agriculture to ‘tell the farming story’ by sharing fun ways to educate children and schools on where food comes from, and how it is made. There will be a variety of activities and resources kindly donated to The DPJ Foundation stand for families to join in and learn whilst at the show. Kate believes the relationship between education and mental health in agriculture is important to highlight: “Farmers in Wales work extremely hard to produce high quality food and by helping to raise awareness of where food comes from, we can bridge the gap between consumers and food producers. This helps to challenge some of the unhelpful myths that can make farmers feel unappreciated which contributes to poor mental health. We also want to educate everyone about how they can look after their own mental health and we will be inviting people to contribute ideas on how to empty our stress bucket”
You can find out more about the The DPJ Foundation at the Anglesey Show by visiting their stand, or you can visit their website: www.thedpjfoundation.co.uk
