We want to let you know about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Community Centre.
In the same month as the Community Centre reached its Fifth anniversary, regrettably, the coronavirus forced us to close to the public on 24th March.
Over a few short years, the Centre has become an important landmark for many, and deeply embedded in our actions. The calendar has filled with more than thirty, weekly, activities with a combined participation amounting to several hundred people, and there has been an exponential increase in people giving of themselves, to advance the charity’s work.
We rely on income from our trading activities – room hire, food & refreshments, catering and minibus hire – to keep the Centre running, so as you would expect, the financial implications of the pandemic are significant. We are fortunate in having some reserves, support from the Town Council and generous supporters who make regular donations, and two small grants towards our overheads for a couple of months. We have calculated that these will be sufficient to withstand closure until the end of August, with a slow recovery thereafter.
For everyone, the present is perplexing, and the future is unknown, however, you can have confidence in our resolve to weather the storm and be here when we emerge from this crisis.
We hope you and your loved ones will be safe, and for those who are grieving we wish we could comfort you. While the building is closed, if help is needed, we are standing-by, willing to deliver meals and shop.
Marion Pearce
