2016 news roundup
West Berkshire Therapy Centre march on!
West Berkshire Therapy Centre has announced that it has been awarded registered charity status at the same time that is to relocate to much larger premises at Frank Hutchins Hall in Thatcham on 1st April 2016, just two years after first opening.
When the service relocates it will also install new equipment, funded by the grant received at the Greenham Common Trust "Pitch to the Panel" event in November. The new equipment is all motorized and will help disabled individuals to move more easily, helping with practical things such as getting out of a chair and improving balance
West Berkshire Therapy Centre New Home!
West Berkshire Therapy Centre has moved to its new home! The service that previously was provided at Clerewater Place, then more recently at The Moors Pavilion, opened in much more permanent premises on 2nd April at The Frank Hutchings Hall, Harts Hill, Thatcham RG18 4QH. The new location offers ideal space and access, with excellent parking and other facilities suitable for disabled individuals in need of a safe place in which to take exercise under expert and understanding supervision.
The service is unique in the South of England and already helps over 200 people each week who have mobility or other problems and who therefore are unable to exercise safely in the way most people manage. The enlarged Centre includes several new items of specialised equipment. A unique motorised chair helps disabled individuals to practise rising from sitting to standing, and other unique equipment helps the body's major muscles move in ways that are important to perform tasks of daily living better. Some very specialised new equipment helps those in need to practise and improve their balance. The Centre has upgraded some other equipment with more interactive display screens, in particular to help those in need to balance their left and right muscles. The Centre now offers eighteen major items of exercise equipment, including power-assisted cycling machines and a sophisticated treadmill designed to help build confidence in walking safely.
The equipment changes arose from listening to practical problems described by the Centre's disabled clients, followed by discussions between the Centre's physiotherapists and suppliers to create unique solutions to make a difference and keep disabled people more mobile and safe. Many of the equipment changes were funded by Greenham Common Trust, following West Berkshire Therapy Centre's success in being awarded over £32k at their 'Pitch to the Panel' event held last November. The Centre is most grateful to have numerous other sponsors and supporters and to its great team of staff and many volunteers.
Chris Boulton, Chief Executive of Greenham Common Trust, visited the Centre on 4th April to see how his Trust's grant had been spent as he joined with the Mayor of Thatcham, staff, volunteers, clients and others to celebrate the opening of the enlarged facilities. The Centre is always delighted to show visitors its facilities.
The Centre is most grateful to Thatcham Town Council for its help in making The Frank Hutchings Hall available, allowing the Centre to develop and grow with confidence. The Centre has the capacity to provide well over 10,000 exercise sessions each year to help those with mobility challenges to be more active, safe and independent.
Quiz Night Success!
The quiz night raised a magnificent £772
Thank you to everyone who kindly donated prizes, bought tickets, bid in the auction or otherwise helped to raise such a fantastic amount!
Move Update
Our move to The Frank Hutchings Hall went very smoothly, thanks to the help of staff and volunteers, with our two main suppliers sending in their engineers to reconfigure the equipment, all supported by a specialist removals company. A huge thank you to everyone who turned out to help, not forgetting those helping behind the scenes. Other than hitches with BT and the phones and Internet connection, we reopened calmly at 10 am on Saturday 2nd April with our clients clearly impressed with what they saw and experienced.
Some of our existing equipment has been upgraded and four new machines are in place thanks to funds from our success at Greenham Common Trusts' 'Pitch to the Panel' event last November. The new equipment will come into use progressively as each client is reassessed, to ensure they receive the most appropriate exercise programme we can provide.
Chief Executive of Greenham Common Trust, Chris Boulton, visited The Centre on 4th April to see how the Trust's funds had been spent and he was clearly delighted at what he saw and heard. We were joined by the Mayor of Thatcham, Councillor Sheila Ellison, and by John Winchcombe and Tim Pritchard from The Rotary Club of Newbury who had acted as mentors at the successful Pitch to the Panel. Our Patron, Jacqueline Scoins-Cass MBE also joined us, along with many staff and volunteers.
Also present at that special event was Claire Tyrell, Director of Programmes for Berkshire Community Foundation, armed with the fabulous news that they have awarded us a grant of £5,000 to help cover our rent increase in our first year at The Frank Hutchings Hall, sufficient to protect our finances until the expected increase in use of our service is covered by the voluntary contributions from clients. A huge thank you to Berkshire Community Foundation for that!
26th June
A big thank you to Rotary Club of Newbury for allowing us pride of place next to the French Boules event they held in Newbury Market Place on Sunday 26th June. We really appreciate the opportunity to be able to out there with the public and able to let everyone know about the difference we make. Well done Rotary Club of Newbury and many thanks to volunteers Norman, Bob, John and Irene who helped on the day!
2nd July
Once again we were on the streets of Newbury, this time with the help of Newbury Branch of David Clulow Opticians, courtesy of the Branch Director, Scott Waters, who sponsored our gazebo which was outside his shop all day on Saturday 2nd July. This brought us to the attention of a lot of people in need of our special service and we look forward to welcoming new clients as the word spreads that we are here. Many thanks to Scott and his staff for hosting and looking after our volunteers on the day, with a constant stream of warm drinks. Our thanks go also to our volunteers on the day, Margaret, John, Hazel, Mike, Bob and John, also to everyone who donated prizes for the Lucky Dip, which raised just over £100