On Thursday 24 July we celebrated a significant milestone - 36 years after opening the Day Centre in portakabins, work that was started by Dr. Cressey - with our fabulous new garden area being officially opened.
The ceremonial ribbon was cut by Dr Larry Amure, who spent 24 years at the Over Surgery and has been a great supporter of the Day Centre over the years.
The new garden is the result of significant levels of fundraising over the last two years, during which time over £100,000 has been raised for a variety of projects. Instrumental in reaching this incredible figure has been 19 UK Trusts and Foundations who generously donated along with local Parish councils of Over, Swavesey, Willingham and Longstanton, as well as the Thomas Galon's Charity and the Over Town Lands Charity. In addition, all participants in our 5Pubs Challenge, Bike rides and annual Quiz Night have contributed, as have Day Centre clients and their families.
The garden itself has been achieved through the support of Geoff Carke and Wayne Newman, South Cambs District Council, Jack Uttridge from NGU Construction, our trustees who purchased plants, sourced and refreshed a shed and prepared the garden, with our our clients completing the planting.
Our Day Room has also had a fantastic refresh, again with money from our funders, with flooring fitted by Dean of KLS Flooring and new tables and chairs from local furniture suppliers. We’ve also been able to invest in a new dual fuel oven and hot cabinet, and last year we were able to replace our assisted bath.
Trustee David Barker commented: ‘We are always so grateful for the support we receive from local businesses and contractors, many of whom go that extra mile and donate time and materials for free. Support from our trustees is also instrumental in our success, not only in the guidance of the operation but also in the time they spend on projects such as our garden, on maintenance work and in helping to organise our events. We must also thank our dedicated staff for their brilliant care, and for always providing such a welcoming and fun environment.
Two years ago a group of volunteers started our Memory Cafe, taking the lead from Willingham’s Memory Box Café – with whom we work very closely – so it’s a huge thank you to all who bake cakes and savouries, serve food and chat to our guests. More recently volunteer chefs, servers and plate washers have launched a Saturday Lunch Club, providing a two course, freshly prepared lunch for up to 32 diners. All in all, this is a tremendous team effort, the results of which can be seen today.’
Our photos from what was a fantastic day are available on our Gallery page.