Did you know that over one million people donate their time nationally to be a Trustee? This week is Trustees Week and we should celebrate the people who take on the responsibility and give up their time to ensure that the charity sector continues to support the most worthy causes in our society.
A huge thanks goes to our Board of Trustees who support us every day of the year without looking for any personal recognition or reward apart from the satisfaction that they are helping their community.
The Bridgend Centre was dismayed to hear that Bollington Town Council is considering pulling out of the contract they have agreed with Cheshire East Council to keep Pool Bank car park free to use for residents and visitors to Bollington.
As a vital and unique charity situated in the heart of our town but without our own parking on site, the Bridgend Centre views the car park at Pool Bank as essential to being able to provide our services. Each week hundreds of visitors come to use the centre, which is open 6 days a week, either for a browse in our popular charity shop or to access one of our many services. Their visit could be as simple as having a cup of tea in our café and a chat with a community worker or attending a class or workshop, maybe they are heading out on one of our guided walks which take place at least twice a week. Visitors include those who are isolated, elderly, with poor health or struggling with their mental health as well as those who love our shop, the wonderful welcoming atmosphere and ethos of the centre.
We have written to Bollington Town Council with some points we want to ask Councillors to consider ahead of the debate tonight:
1. The charity sector nationally and locally is under ever increasing pressure to provide services that fill gaps in the caring sectors but without receiving any government or local authority support.
2. Grants and funding sources are oversubscribed 10-fold, which adds to the pressure to keep our head above water financially.
3. The Bridgend Centre operates with a small staff team and a team of volunteers. Some are Bollington based but many travel from outside the town and due to the poor public transport need to come to the centre by car. Adding paid parking will add over a thousand pounds a year to a full-time member of staff’s personal costs.
4. Many of those accessing our services as visitors will also struggle with the car park becoming paid, it is a barrier to them receiving the support they need.
5. Have Councillors considered how they could fund permits instead of providing the whole car park for free via the Cheshire East contract?
6. We have heard mention of 30 mins free, and whilst any subsidy is welcome at the Bridgend Centre we are worried this will make a visitor rush to get back to their car, they may spend less in the shop (thus reducing a vital income stream) or may not have time to chat properly with a community worker.
7. What could BTC do to support the Bridgend Centre as we face this barrier to people accessing our services?
8. We are grateful for the long history of BTC supporting the Bridgend Centre, from the early days when the original Drop-in centre operated out of the Town Hall before BTC worked with us to help us buy the building and includes continued support via the grants process.
We asked council to please consider how they can find a way to keep Pool Bank as a free resource for all.
The work on our building is progressing nicely. So much so that the scaffolding will be coming down this coming Saturday 25th October. Therefore we will need to remain closed for safety purposes.
While there is still a lot to do, it is great to have reached this milestone!
We have an exciting new range of Bridgend Centre souvenirs available to purchase in our Centre. Including a coaster, keyring and fridge magnet of the lovely image of the Bridgend Centre by Adam Francis Illustrator. All produced for us at the Oakwood Centre at The Rossendale Trust #workinginpartnership
We are excited to tell you that work on our building is due to commence on Monday 18th August and scaffolding will be going up on Saturday 16th. We will be closed on Saturday 16th August to allow the scaffolding to be erected safely. We should be open again as normal on the Monday.
This work consists of significant renovations to our 16th century building and paves the way to securing the long-future of our organisation.
The project is estimated to take 12-16 weeks. The aim is to minimise disruption and remain open wherever possible, however there may be occasions when we are forced to close for a short period. We will keep you up to date on this via our social media channels, website and email. There may be occasions when there are a lot of vehicles around the building and you may have to park a distance away to access our services. We appreciate your patience and support for our neighbours during this time.
The Bridgend Centre has been awarded funding from the Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance to provide information about cancer to people in our community and work to improve early detection rates.
We will also provide information on how to reduce the risk factors and work to reduce the stigma of cancer and discrimination.
We feel honoured to have been given this opportunity to provide this important service to our community and look forward to working on it in the coming months.
Eek, we have been shortlisted for Charity of the Year in the North Cheshire Chamber of Commerce Business Awards! We find out at the Gala Ceremony in July whether we have won but regardless of the result we are so excited to have got this far. Huge thanks to the Chamber of Commerce for their faith in our organisation and what we do.
The June edition of our newsletter, ‘Bridging Social Isolation’ is now available to download from our website. Or you can pick up a free paper copy from within the Centre.
