Scarborough Mates expands shed project thanks to funding
The charity aims to prevent social isolation and loneliness in the town
A charity in Scarborough is benefitting from £10,000 to further prevent social isolation in the town.
Scarborough Mates has been given the funding from the Sirius Minerals Foundation to expand its shed project at Londesborough Business Park.
Since their creation in 2018, the charity has spent time searching for a place to have exclusive access to develop their facilities and further their charitable objectives.
It aims to prevent social isolation amongst the harder to reach members of the Scarborough community who may have suffered illness, unemployment, bereavement or are lacking confidence to come together in a safe environment to do many practical activities or just have a chat over a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Work on their new base has included a new kitchen area, disabled toilet, removal of internal walls to create bigger spaces, new lighting, fire security system and video surveillance, widening doorways for wheelchair access, making new doors and lastly redecorating inside and out.
Chairman Iain Hale said:
“This group has been a real lifeline for many people. Many of our members had nobody and without this group they would have simply become isolated from society. This facility is a real community asset now and will ensure we can help more and more people in the future.
“We wouldn’t be here without the generous grant from the Sirius Minerals Foundation. Without their support we simply couldn’t have taken the risk of signing a lease on this property. It also demonstrates great understanding and support that the Foundation have waited patiently for us to find the right premises and that has helped us enormously.”
Foundation Chief Executive Leah Swain added:
“The work Scarborough Mates do to help try and alleviate social isolation is fantastic and the Sirius Minerals Foundation are delighted to have supported them to be able to take this step and relocate into their own dedicated space.
“Loneliness is a big issue for so many people, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, so any support we can offer to projects like the Scarborough Mates is funding well spent.”
Anyone who wishes to get in touch with Scarborough Mates can do so by emailing scarboroughmates@gmail.com or calling 07473 155713 or visit https://scarboroughmates.org.uk/