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Current Needs
Introduction
This is a partial list of the current needs we have. We do our best to keep this page up to date, but please check if you think you can help us in one of these ways, just in case.
People
We need volunteers to help in all areas of the ministry. At present, the biggest needs are as follows.
LITE Course
- The most urgent need is for a female volunteer to help on Monday afternoons from 8 September, 2 - 4:30pm. But we also would appreciate two more volunteers to help on Monday and Thursday afternoons, 2 - 4:30pm. If you can only manage one afternoon a week, that would be fine. We ask for a commitment, if possible, for the whole course: from 8 September 2008 to 29 January 2009, with breaks. We appreciate that an absolute commitment is not possible, but it would be good for volunteers to expect, where possible, to continue through to January.
Coffee Shop
- We need daytime volunteers to help Monday to Friday, if possible betweeen 10:30 am and 3 pm, and on Saturday evenings between 7 and 10 pm.
Client Care
- We need people who are willing and able to visit some of our longer term clients in their homes, and provide a combination of practical and emotional support.
Money and Things
Publicity
- Display boards - our current ones are literally falling to pieces (initial estimate of £1,000)
Coffee Shop
- Industrial deep fryer.
- Food processor.
- Salary for the Assistant Coffee Shop Manager from March 2008.
- Home made cakes are always appreciated!
LITE Course
- Keyboard and mouse for partially sighted people (£200)
- Andy and Trudie have suggested that we should get a camcorder (estimate of £150 - £600), but have not yet given me a clear description of the benefit it would bring: it would be "useful in producing publicity materials."
- We need to get a replacement digital camera to replace the current old one, which is not working properly. Andy is supposed to be getting a quote for repairing it, but I suspect it will be cheaper to replace it with a new one. Possibly £150, but not checked this yet. We have made several failed attempts to get an estimate.
- Training DVDs: Effective CVs (£44 + VAT); Interviews (£44 + VAT).
Subscriptions and Training
- Subscription to Drugs and Alcohol Today (£155 for one year, £248 for two years)
- Subscription to Community Safety Journal (£195 for one year, £312 for two years)
- Purchase training material: Psychosis Revisited (£105)
- First Aid training for all staff at £95 plus VAT (£111.62 each, or £669.72)
- 'Intelligent Church' published by Faithworks: book and DVD. Useful background and promotional material.
- Recent book by John Bird (founder of the Big Issue) "How to change your life in 7 steps".
- Working With Drug Users (training materials from Pavilion: £155 + 10% p&p)
- Crossing Frontiers (background and research in helping drug users, also Pavilion: £25)
Building
- Investigate getting planning permission for another floor at 12 City Road, to make the property more valuable if we sell it.
- Checking the wiring and additional power sockets for the offices.
New Building
- We need a larger building for the Coffee Shop, somewhere near the present one (£250,000?) Ideally, the new building will be large enough for the training and office as well, otherwise we will have the cost of operating on two sites. We currently have something like 1,000 ft2 of space for the Coffee Shop and Basement. I can't see any point in moving anywhere that has less than 1,500 ft2, and preferably we would move to somewhere with 2,000 ft2 available to the shop. The LITE Course has 500 ft2 and would like between 750 ft2 and 1,000 ft 2; the offices have 500 ft2and really need a minimum of 750 ft2. So in overall terms, we are looking for 3,000 - 4,000 ft2, or 300-400 m2 (278.7-371.6 m2, if you want to be precise...)
- I think we are looking for a minimum of 700 ft2 (70 m2) for a charity shop, but am willing to have that figure revised. It would be possible to start with perhaps 500 ft2 and 'test the waters'.