The story so far…
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 12 months since we last posted but we’ve been working hard refurbishing our retail unit and workshop. As we previously talked about, we took up residence in the old cooperative buildings in Sacriston, our new permanent home. If you follow us on Facebook you will have seen a lot of the progress that has been made, not only in our own retail and workshop spaces but over the whole site. It’s taken a lot of sweat, late nights, early mornings and definitely some tears, but we think the progress we’ve made looks amazing!
We have taken inspiration from the co-operative movement who were founded by the pioneering Rochdale 28 in 1884 at 31 Toad Lane; to establish a self-supporting home colony of united interests.
Based on this inspirational heritage we have been working hard to establish ourselves as a hub for community support and action, with the exception of none. We are inclusive regardless of disability or socio-economic circumstances. We have successfully applied for funding from a variety of sources and have put this money towards practical capital works, an onsite security system, a weekly lunch club for those struggling with social isolation, the development of a training and accreditation programme, and for staffing to increase our capacity to reach out to as many individuals and families as possible.
We are working closely with a plethora of organisations, housing providers, public health, the local authority, the education sector, as well as regional third sector providers, and local grassroots organisations who have common goals to be as impactful as we can be. We do not isolate ourselves to the building, we are proactively “out there” in the community to further strengthen its foundations and provide the additional building blocks that are needed for a healthy and prosperous Sacriston.
We know this is only the beginning, but we are proud of the work to date and feel very privileged to have had the income from funders and support organisations, and more-so for those whose lives we have helped to be that little bit more connected and part of the Woodshed family.
We will continue to ever-grow “our family” … through good work with woodwork.
Much love to our community, we will continue to progress and grow, both organically and proactively.
Stay Safe.
woodshedworkshop.com 