Things are looking up

Following our news back in October that we had hit a funding crisis, we are starting to see the first shoots of regrowth and things are looking up. The Trustees continue to be positive about the future.

We have been overwhelmed by the offers of practical and financial support and thanks to the dedication of our volunteers and staff who were made redundant but continued to volunteer we have been able to keep running one session a week for our participants during this time. These sessions have been very well attended. The support means so much, not just practically, to all of our participants. It shows them that there are people who genuinely care about them, something that they generally are not able to feel from society at large.

We have received many individual donations and these, along with a grant from Pea Green Boat via Community Foundation mean that we are able to secure and increase our sessions to twice a week through to the end of March. We have been able to employ a temporary Creative Coordinator to organise and facilitate these sessions. In addition we have received funding from Allen Lane Foundation and AB Charitable Trust to help with our core costs and staffing costs.

We are also working with Red Cross and North East Refugee Service on a pilot project. They will be running drop in advice sessions from our centre, for our participants and other people seeking asylum and refugees in Gateshead from January.

Thank you to everybody who has contributed to help this regrowth to happen. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.