The Link
May 2003

Volunteers Newsletter for
Crisis Centre Ministries

Kitchen re-fit set for August

Kitchen We are sure you will all be pleased to know that the long-awaited re-fit of The Wild Goose kitchen is set to take place over the summer.

To let you know exactly what is going to be involved The Link asked the following questions.

Why does the kitchen need renovating? The kitchen floor slopes dramatically, it needs raising and replacing before we could sell the building. In addition various health & safety and environmental health inspections have raised other shortcomings that we have a responsibility as employers to put right. Finally we hope the new kitchen will make a better use of space and be a pleasanter place to both work and use.

Do we have the money to do this, isn't the ministry short of cash? A little while ago money was given to us specifically for this purpose. But we didn't feel we had enough to make all the changes that were needed, or the time to manage the project.

So what has changed? Firstly a new benefactor arising from one of our church contacts has provided some extra funding. She has bought all the new electrical equipment needed, promised to purchase other materials at trade price within budget and provided us with her own builders. These builders are also impressed with our ministry and will be working for an incredibly generous hourly rate. Secondly, Nick our temporary coffee-shop manager has been running with the project for some time and we feel that now is the time to proceed.

When exactly will the work start? It has already started! Some of you will have noticed new fire extinguishers in the kitchen. But the main work will start on Monday the 4th of August

How long will it last? The work will take three weeks. One to strip out the existing kitchen and repair the floor, a second to build the new kitchen and a further week to install the new work surfaces, sinks and counter. We will re-open after the bank holiday on Tuesday the 26th of August.

What happens to our ministry during that time? Our clients still need us, so we are hoping to operate the coffee shop from another site for those three weeks and have already looked at some potential premises. Our offices and rooms above the shop will continue to operate as normal.

What about other work that needs doing? Now we know we will be closed for three weeks we could make use of that time to do other work such as re-decorate the shop or basement. BUT, it will be August when many of our volunteers are on holiday and operating from a temporary site will also put a strain on resources. So we don't want to promise too much, but we have applied to The Prince's Trust to see if they could supply some manpower. So watch this space!

How can our readers help? If any one is handy with a screwdriver or paintbrush and would like to help us we would love to hear from them. The builder's are being paid an hourly rate so if we can supply them with help it will cut down on the cost of the over all project.

Please send offers of help or comments to Nick via the office or by e-mail on admin@crisis-centre.org.uk

In next months edition we will let you have more detail about how the new kitchen will look.

JOB ADVERT HITS LOCAL PRESS

An advertisement has gone into the local press advertising the job of full-time coffee shop Manager.

As you know Nick has been fulfilling this role on a part time basis. He has helped the Trustees put together a job description and given some helpful advice about the various aspects of the role.

Copies of the advertisement and salary details are available from Paul Hazleden. We would like all our volunteers to consider applying for the role or, if not, praying we find the right applicant.

We want the successful applicant to start on the 1st of September in order that they can work alongside Nick in a month's hand over period. Nick's contract ends on the 30th of September.

The Trustees have also decided not to recruit an assistant for the LITE course at present.

Great response to last month's issue

Praise The Lord that so many of you have responded with generosity to our article last month about the five p's.

Under each p, we have seen answer to prayer.

Prayer: We know many of you are praying with new vigour and we are seeing answers to prayer already, with our leak in the basement fixed (at last!) and the success of the new video club.
Provision: Two new families have come forward committing to make puddings for us for a session each a week.
People: Two new volunteers have come forward to come in on Thursday mornings, which was one of our problem times, and more applications are in the pipeline!
Publicity: We got a mention in the local press this month when we received money from a sponsored chess match at Holy Trinity School in Bradley Stoke.
Payment: Our thanks go to Bristol Christian Fellowship who held a collection for us at a recent meeting and raised the incredible amount of £1900.

Thank you all so much. You see every one doing their own little bit adds up to a lot!

ANN GOES BACK TO SCHOOL!!

Ann Banks and Jane Johns Ann Banks, one of our Trustees, received a cheque for £100 from Mrs Jane Johns head teacher of Holy Trinity school. Children at the school raised the money for the Crisis Centre by playing in a sponsored chess tournament.

BOWLS!!!!

All volunteers, please note that we will be holding a summer-time social event later this year, when yourselves and your families will be welcome to join us for a picnic on Horfield Common.

An additional item of fun will be that we have booked the bowling lawn and some woods, and hope we might find the next David Bryant from among our volunteers!

The event takes place on Wednesday the 13th of August 2003 starting at around 6.30pm for food with the bowling starting at 7.30pm. We are allowed use of the bowling club bar.

Exact details about start times and location will follow later. We do hope you all will mark this in your diaries, as a social time like this is so important for us to build relationships and team-work.

CCM Most Wanted No. 1: We still urgently require volunteers who are available to work on Tuesday evenings. Even if you could only manage an occasional session we would love to hear from you. Please phone Jayne if you can help.
CCM most wanted No.2: Some prayer please! For the health of Paul Griffiths and Sam. Also for the LITE course. In particular that Andy may be encouraged and find more participants.
CCM most wanted No.3: Is there any body out there who is good at DIY and would be happy to carry out the occasional repair for us. We currently have a donation of cabinets that need fixing to a wall and a door that needs mending. We are willing to pay expenses but feel that we must have someone among our supporters who could do this work and save us unnecessary expense. Please phone Nick if you think you could help.

If you have any items for inclusion in the Link please send them into the office. For further information about any article in this addition please ring any member of Staff as listed below.

Paul Hazelden, Trudie and Andy: 0117 942 3088
Nick and Jayne (Coffee shop): 0117 924 5114

Link to hit counter: