The Prebend Day Centre

This year we have been chosen as Sainsbury’s local charity of the year.  This means that staff at Sainsbury’s, Kempston, have been putting in a lot of time and effort to help us here at the day centre.  We cannot thank them enough for the help and co-operation we have recieved from them during this event.  Over the Christmas period they will be holding a raffle in aid of the day centre.  The prize will be a shopping trolley full of food to the value of £150.  Tickets will be available through December from Sainsbury’s in Kempston.

As we getting ready for yet another years end and preparing for celebrations at the day centre, I cannot help but wonder where does all the time go???

Please accept my apologies for being a terrible blogger in the past year or more. Times have been tough and I let this slip……

Anyway, soon it will be a new year and a new start! One where I will find the time let you know monthly on how the charity is getting on.

As usual donations are plentiful at this time of year. We would like to say a big thank you to all those who have helped with harvest festival donations. These items will help support vulnerable people in our local communty over the coming winter months.

BeCHaR and Mears Construction have teamed up and have been breaking their backs to produce a new Community Garden.

The project received a very generous donation of £2,000.00 from Margaret Davey (Ex.Cllr of Castle Ward – Bedford). These funds, along with the hard work from BeCHaR Guests, BeCHaR Volunteers, BeCHaR Staff and Mears Construction Employees; we have made an amazing Community Garden for the benefit of many for years to come.

The new Community Garden will allow Guests that attend The Prebend Day Centre an opportunity to breathe in some fresh air, have a change of scenery, drink lots of Tea and Coffee while chatting and grow fruit/vegetables/ herbs/spices. We will then be holding cookery classes within the canteen at The Prebend Day Centre, teaching individuals how to cook healthy, nutritious food from the product grown from the Community Garden. A truly holistic approach to help facilitate  a positive change.

We would like to thank (in no particular order); Margaret Davey – Ex.Cllr Castle Ward Bedford, Wendy Ludman – Neighborhood Support Officer,  Michelle Brophy – Mears Customer and Community Manager,  Chris and Team – Mears, Clive & Nigel – Volunteers, Mel, Wayne & Smuddge – Guests, and Tony – BeCHaR.

We are pleased to announce the official launch took place on Friday 9th September 2011.

On a recent visit to The Prebend Day Centre to see first hand the work we do here, Anne from John Lewis noticed our broken down oven.

She had been so impressed with all the work we do and the  outcomes achieved, she promised straight up to write us out a cheque on behalf of John Lewis to purchase a replacement.

What a fantastic first step in a newly forged partnership with such a well known home brand. We are looking forward to the continued partnership ahead.

Below is a picture of the new oven in action and our Chef Richard tending to the morning cooked English breakfast.

Cheers John Lewis!!!

The Rotary Club of De Parys Bedford have kindly sponsored our new and latest involvement project for guests attending our service.

They kindly sponsored BeCHaR to purchase all the equipment needed to set-up our guest led and run Tuck Shop. They also set themselves to work and redecorated for us, giving the Tuck Shop a new lick of paint.

The Tuck Shop is part of our new ‘Healthy Eating Project’ promoting healthy eating and well being amongst our service users. We provide each individual attending our service daily with a free fruit smoothie and cereal bar. However, should they fancy another not so healthy snack; they are able to purchase this at wholesale price. BARGAIN!

Service users can get involved and volunteer their time to run the Tuck Shop. They learn new skills in stock management, cleaning procedures, cash transactions and smoothie making. We are working towards being able to provide an NVQ and will update once we have more information.

Below picture is of Rotarian Keith and the current Rotarian President Annette on a recent visit to review the Tuck Shops progress.

THANK YOU ROTARY.

BeCHaR has formed a partnership with HSBC! They have secured a whooping £1,700.00 towards repainting the day centre and purchasing some nifty bike racks for the courtyard.

Jennifer Crawley, Retail Branch Manager, pulled together two fab teams of Volunteers from the local regions HSBC banks for the weekend of 18-19th June 2011 to start their handiwork. They managed to repaint two of the three lounges and will be returning to repaint the last lounge and other areas at a later date.

THANKS HSBC! There is only one word left to say……….. *SUPERSTARS*

Heres a few pics of the two days and the fab teams of volunteers who attended:

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat
Please to put a penny in the old man’s hat;
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do,
If you haven’t got a ha’penny then God bless you!

This well known childrens rhyme reminds us that Christmas is a time to consider those less fortunate than ourselves. Simply stating to give to charity within our means, even if all you are able to do is offer your blessing.

C.R.I.B. Appeal 2010 is aiming to reach a target of £30,000.00.

Last year C.R.I.B. Appeal 2009 blessed the Charity with a staggering £26,000.00.

The Appeal donations enable BeCHaR to continue providing its services to our increasing visitors over the winter months and helps us provide a magical Christmas for those who would otherwise have no one and no where to go.

Remember crisis knows no bounderies and in lead up to Christmas and throughout the festive period individuals relie heavily on us being here for them. Offering them respect, compassion, friendship, support and festive cheer.

We are looking for volunteers to help run the day centre and its services over the festive period. If you feel you would like to help out please contact Sue on tel: 01234 365955 or Email: Admin@prebendcentre.org.uk.

If you would like to support BeCHaR with the C.R.I.B. Appeal 2010, please send Cash or Cheques Payable to BeCHaR or alternatively chocolate, toiletries and new warm clothing to:

The Prebend Day Centre

12 Prebend Street

Bedford

MK40 1QW

Enquiries: 01234 365955 – Admin@prebendcentre.org.uk

FESTIVE PERIOD OPENING HOURS:

Christmas Day – 25th December: 9.30AM – 3.00PM

Boxing Day – 26th December: 9.30AM – 3.00PM

Bank Holiday Monday – 27th December: 9.30AM – 3.00PM

Bank Holiday Tuesday – 28th December: 9.30AM – 3.00PM

New Year’s Day – 1st January: 9.30AM – 3.00PM

Bank Holiday Monday – 3rd January: 9.30AM – 3.00PM

(Normal opening hours apply to dates not mentioned here, BeCHaR is a 365 day a year service)

Harvest is here!

Yet again the golden months of Autumn have slowly but surely crept back into our lifes. Summer has all but drifted by and rain, fog and frost all but confirms that Winter will soon be upon us all.

The generosity of all in support of BeCHaR continues to arrive at the centre in the car loads and every time we feel overwhelmed with thanks for the celebration the season brings.

It is with grace and warm hearts that we see the local communities of Bedfordshire helping to restock our Food Bank for what unfortunitly will be another tough year ahead. More individuals in need and more funding cuts….

Here are a few ideas of items you could kindly donate to the Charity:

Tinned Food; meat, potatoes, vegtables, fruit.

Dried Goods; pasta, rice, cereal, oats.

Luxury Goods; tea, coffee, biscuits, chocolate.

Toiletries; deodrant, shower gel, toothbrushes – toothpaste, aftershave, razors.

Clothing; mens boxers (M-L), mens jeans (M-L), Ladies underwear, jumpers, t-shirts, trousers, coats, socks.

We will of course be more than happy to accept any other kind offers of donations. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss this with us. Tel: 01234 365955.

We now brace ourselves for the ensuing busy months in the run up to Christmas Festivities.