Thursday 27th September - painted offices

We have a couple of volunteers who have gone so far above and beyond the call of duty in our new building that they definitely deserve a special mention.    Carly Martin and Karl Brookes have spent the last couple of days painting away in the offices...... and look at the results!

                                              
 Lovely cool grey walls are appearing, skirtings are on.  We are nearly ready for flooring to go down and desks to be moved in.

Meanwhile over in the other side of the building the food is almost ready for our Dare2Care food distribution on Tuesday.  It might look as though there is masses of food here, but in actual fact pretty much all of this will be distributed next week and the tables will be bare once again.  We help to feed over 50 families every month and the number keeps growing.   Thank you SO much to all of you who contribute food..... you really have no idea what a lifesaver it is to some people.  And how much it is appreciated.

                                         

If you have packets and jars in your cupboards which you could spare this week please just drop them into the shop in Market Square.   Every item will go to someone who needs a helping hand to make it through the month.

In other news the kids in Highlight After Schools club have been learning about autumn.   And they have been getting creative making scarecrows.   Pretty scary I think you will agree!

Monday 24th September. Dare2Care

I think the faries were in over the weekend because when I turned up with my camera this morning I was met with yet more changes.

Until now we have been operating Dare2Care from the House of Hope out on the A1. We have been so blessed by being able to use the cottage for the Peoples Project and our food store over the past few years but we are beyond excited to be finally able to use our new building for our food distribution this month.  And by next month, hopefully, the social supermarket will be up and running!!

                                       

The food is arriving from the House of Hope ready for distribution next week.    There is now a carpeted office space specifically for Dare2Care so that Lou has her very own desk to do her paperwork.   The steps from the food hall to the office are now floored out with the same wood effect lino which is over the rest of the building.

Outside the joiner is fitting a new doorframe so that people can safely get in and out of the social supermarket when it opens ( hopefully next month)   We are keeping the Teddy Bear Room door.  We might not keep the name.   Awwwww shame!  

On the other side of the building progress is a little slower but the fireplace in the offices has now gone and the wall has been replastered.   The wall of the counselling room is coming down to facilitate a bit of a redesign and some soundproofing.  

That's all for today folks.  Enjoy the sunshine but wrap up warm!

Thursday 20th September

We are delighted to announce that our very first activities have started in Wellington House this week.    As of Tuesday we are now up and running with our Highlight After Schools Club.   This will run on a Tues, Wed and Thurs afternoon for differing age groups of primary school children.  There are still a few spaces left if you would like your child to join us.  Contact Heather in the office on 07946 783279.

Here is what the children have been creating in our first week.  Some lovely artwork for our rather empty white walls.

 

And look what has happened out on the street!!   The dreary burnt orange has gone for good.  I hope you will all agree that this is a massive improvement.  We still have quite a way to go with smartening the place up, but every step we take buoys us up to keep on working.

Just to let you all know, there will NOT be a work party going in this Saturday as we will have electricians in the building who want a clear space to be able to do whatever it is that electricians need to do in order to get us our certificates 😁   But if you are free to help us out next week please do let us know.  There is still a lot of painting to do.

Saturday 15th Sept

Another weekend another work party.

Donna and the team were busy on Saturday prepping the offices and upstairs spaces ready for painting to start happening.   Michael came back from his holidays today and we cant wait for him to see all the work that has happened in the two weeks he has been away.   This weekend has seen the kitchen going into the People's Project room - courtesy of our wonderful friends at F3 Fabrication who have done us an incredible deal on the fixtures and fittings as well as lending us Curtis to do the installation!    What a transformation  !

A huge shout out to Tesco who donated us a fridge.  We love the relationship we are building with the Banbridge Tesco at the Boulevard.  They continue to be so kind to uas and are happy to help us whenever they can.

The girls have been stripping the wallpaper in the downstairs hall ready for painting.   We thought the shower cap might be for protection but apprently its what all the interior designers are wearing this season.  😊

And in the space which is soon to be our Social Supermarket there is fab new flooring going down.

There is more to report but I need to go and take some more photos.  It's hard to keep up at the moment.   

All of this hard work has to be paid for ( although so many people are helping us out by donating their time or giving us a really good deal on products ) so if you feel you would like to invest in this amazing community project then please do visit our Just Giving page.  Every pound will be very wisely spent and will go towards making a safe and welcoming space for all the people of Dromore and the surrounding area to enjoy.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/viawings/moving

Wed 12th Sept. Bob's award. Bathroom Bliss

I was away yesterday and I really must stop doing that because after 48 hours so much has happened in Wellington House it's hard to keep up! 


The floor of the Hope for Life Center has been screeded.   There is a new floor going down in the People's Project kitchen .......   Donna is a little bit high on the glue fumes 😁

    

 The seating is all being ripped out of one of the many small snug rooms on the other side of the building .  Leanne has been busy with the stone effect wallpaper - using several coats of varnish she has created novel and stylish splashbacks for the bathrooms.   The baby changing area is sorted, mirrors are up and everything is looking smart and tidy.

 Bob was found to have finally come down his ladder and has moved on to painting toilet doorframes.    In recognition of his sterling hard work over the past couple of weeks we awarded him with his poem and paintbrush.   He was most tickled.                                                                                                  

Sat 8th September. The workmen are in

Gail went on holiday on Friday.  She actually switched off her phone!!!   This is a miracle of epic proportions.  Trust me.

As soon as she had gone look what happened.

Actually, to tell the truth they were just taking a well earned break from working pretty hard on their Saturday off.   Thanks guys.

We have had the electricians and joiners in over the weekend doing some fairly vital work to make the place safe and sound. 

And have you seen our new wallpaper?   Just loving this.

We could really do with some volunteers to help out this coming Saturday.  if you could give us a hand with painting, filling holes, shifting rubbish or anything else please do get in touch.   Many hands really do make light work.  Thank you so much

Bob's ceiling.

The guy up the ladder is Bob.  Bob likes painting.  In fact Bob is a bit of a perfectionist - especially when it comes to ceilings.   Bob will not be beaten .  He went up a ladder two weeks ago and still hasnt come down yet.     In honour of his amazing tenacity and determination we have written a poem in his honour and will be presenting him with a special paintbrush when he comes down to earth again.

How long can you stay up a ladder

Whilst painting a ceiling gray?

If it’s a very big ceiling

Perhaps it might take all day

If it has never been boarded

With rafters exposed to our view

You may well be standing on ladders

For more than a day or two

And if you are trying to repaint

Where others have left smudgy streaks

You may have to be up that ladder

For at least a couple of weeks

We were going to give you a medal

For painting so long overhead

But we thought you’d prefer this paintbrush

As a lovely reminder instead.

Thursday 6th September

Today there is a skip...... and it's full already. 

The stock room now has railings and shelves in it! These were an amazing donation from a supporter who has contacts in the retail industry.

And in Gail and Donna's office the artwork has arrived even though the walls havent been painted yet 

😉

Monday 3rd Sept - Gift of a stove

Well another weekend, another work party and yet more change.

People's Project Kitchen Before

The People's Project kitchen has been ripped out and cleaned and is ready for a proper home kitchen to go in.   Cleaning was not a pleasant task - so well done Val and Judy for putting in the elbow grease to get rid of the deep fat fryer grease!!
                   

After 

 

                                             
 As you can see from the state of the equipment we ripped out, it has all been a lot of hard work.    But our amazing and wonderful volunteers have thrown themselves into everything with such gusto.  We are truly, madly, deeply appreciative.    The Olive Branch has been keeping everyone supplied with sandwiches and coffee.   All in all it has been great craic.

Today, Monday, the bar is being ripped out - which has meant the beer cooler has been dismantled and there is a faint smell of hops pervading the building 😁😁

Harrison has picked up a sledgehammer and appears to be having way too much fun destroying the old kitchen in what is soon to be the new Olive Branch. 

Karl meanwhile is posing.....  I mean painting 

And finally - the God story for the day.......

Last week Gail was looking whistfully at the hole in the wall which used to be a fireplace in the room which used to be the snug.   She was thinking how nice it would be to have a stove there to light in the winter and cosy up the conservatory and cafe.   However such an item would be a luxury which we could not afford when so many more pressing things need to be done.    A couple of days later she happened to mention this to a couple she was having coffee with. The husband looked at the wife and smiled, pulled out an envelope and said  'Here's a gift to help you buy one'    Amazing eh?   So a very excited Gail let the staff team know and said that even though the contents of the envelope wouldnt be enough to buy a stove we now had some money to put towards one.   Later that evening I thought Id have a wee look on Guntree to see how much stoves cost.  And guess what?  There was an ex display stove for sale in Lisburn for EXACTLY the amount of money that had been given to us  !!! 

Don't you love it when God does that stuff?   You can feel Him smiling as we delight in the surprises He has for us round every corner.   

SO,  we now have a stove for our new building.  And I for one am looking forward to a few cosy winter afternoons warming my toes and drinking coffee beside it.   When Gail lets me have a lunch break  😉