Charities and Non-profit organisations

Brigg Life is pleased to offer space for free on this page for information about charities and non-profit organisations. If you would like to be featured, please send through a description of your organisation and/or its current activities or projects. Pictures are welcome too. Please send via email to: ed@brigglife.co.uk

Breakthrough Breast Cancer two day walk

Monday, 18 April 2005

Local Brigg mother of four, Sarah O'Hara, will join thousands of others in London to walk 60 kilometres in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

The Breakthrough Breast Cancer weekend is a two-day, 60 km walk through the neighbourhoods of London, taking place 23-25 September 2005. All proceeds benefit Breakthrough Breast Cancer, funding vital breast cancer research and educational programmes.

Sarah

Sarah: In a mad moment I decided I COULD DO THAT ! Like I said mad, I am 37 overweight, unfit and a non-smoker for 7 weeks now , but I still think I can do it. But this is a joint effort, on my part I have taken on the challenge to spend the next six months of my life firmly attached to my pedometer , walking in all weathers, eating all the right foods, (no more Tesco cookies).

Your part is the most important, as a condition of my taking part in this mad adventure I have agreed to raise a minimum of £1500, this is where you come in, would you please make a donation.

Sarah is also looking for other people to walk along with her:

Sarah: Walkers must train for the event and pledge to raise £1,500. There will be full support by coaches, clinics, training and mailings for ongoing support. There will be support with hot meals, water and snack stops, toilet facilities and even hot showers at the camp site.

If you would like to help Sarah with a donation or would like to go along on the walk with her, you can contact Sarah on 01652 652 392 or contact her via the Breakthrough website: www.breakthroughweekend.org. (Walker's number - 52601-8)

Cheques should be made payable to The Weekend to Breakthrough Cancer quoting Sarah O'Hara and her walker's number - 52601-8 - and sent to: Weekend to Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Box 101, 456-458 Strand, London WC2R 0DZ.

NLC Befrienders Scheme

Sunday, 20 June 2004

Befrienders team

After many months of planning, training and preparing Brigg New Life Church launched it's community BeFriender's Scheme in May 2004. The service is aimed at offering support for Carers in the community.

It involves a team of trained volunteers, who are available to come alongside those in need of such help, under the supervision of Mrs Angie Greenacre. The service may be accessed on a self-referral basis, by phoning 07791 465439. New Life Church is indebted to VANL for both advice and financial support through the Community Pot.

Sunday, 18 April 2004

The decision to create the Sensory Garden was a joint decision made by the residents management and staff at Stonecroft House.

There was a large grassed area at the home that had been an orchard in previous years that was not used for any particular purpose. This area was easily accessible to get materials in to construct the garden.

Sue the gardener at Stonecroft House (my wife) who is RHS qualified drew the plans up in consultation with the interested residents and management.

John Simpson the Volunteers coordinator employed by Stonecroft House and Sue the gardener have sent many letters to local businesses's appealing for help in creating the garden by way of donation of materials plants labour etc.

So far the response is looking good with several promise's being made. John and Sue have also personally visited local companies and presented them with a copy of the plans etc.

Stonecroft staff and volunteers are also taking part and organising many fund raising events to help with the costs. A list of these are given on the website.

Stonecroft House are not expecting everything to be done for nothing, obviously there are some areas of the garden such as electrical work for the lighting that will have to be done by skilled tradesmen. Stonecroft House are just trying to keep the costs to a bare minimum.

Local voluntary groups have been approached. A local JCB driver has also been approached to take off the turf from the areas where it will need to come off, and he is in fact going to look at what is involved on Monday 19th April 2004, so hopefully a start on clearing the area ready for work to commence should be underway very shortly.

The website itself has been created by myself with no cost at all to Stonecroft House, and will be updated regularly, especially once work is in progress. There is no time scale as such on the completion of the project, but obviously the sooner the better.

After completion of the garden it is hoped to get a local celebrity to officially open the garden. The website will be kept on and will then probably concentrate more on other aspects of the home.

Roger and Sue, Stonecroft House

Visit the Stonecroft Sensory Garden site: http://www.stonecrofthouse.org.uk/

Saturday, 17 April 2004

Knotted Note Cafe

The Knotted Note Cafe has been up and running for seven weeks now. It has not been an easy or quick process, however. It has taken two years of hard work so far to instigate the project and bring together enough financial support, sponsorship and volunteers to enable it to open.

The cafe - although aimed principally at young people between the ages of 14 and 19 - is open to the general public between 9am and 5:30pm. A range of excellent value meals, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages are served in a relaxed, "continental cafe" atmosphere.

The cafe offers a place for young people to hang out in a safe environment where they can meet their friends and listen to music. Upstairs is a learning services organisation - Carlton Education - which provides educational support and training to young people who have been or are likely to be excluded from school.

Inside the cafe

Running the cafe has been a "Learning experience" for everyone involved. There were some initial problems with one or two of the visitors. Now that basic groundrules have been established and agreed, the problem behaviours have diminished.

It has been difficult sometimes for the visiting young people to understand that it is a cafe and not a "conventional" youth club. The cafe is not just a facility for refreshment but also the main way to keep the operation financially viable. The staff are keen to expand the number of paying customers from the general public.

The young people have money - but they are not willing to spend it here - they spend it on CDs and clothes instead. Our biggest seller here are 5p ice pops - and it takes a lot of them to pay the staff's wages. The cafes takings were under £4 last night.

Jan Gilbert - the director - had hoped to staff the cafe with volunteers, but this has not been possible, so paid staff have had to be hired, which puts a considerable financial burden on the Knotted Note.

Have you got any ideas how the Knotted Note can stay financially viable? Or do you have some spare time to help young people? If so, please get in touch on 01652 637 489.