The Angus Carers Centre Makeover

Aim: Help Angus Carers Centre to create chill-out areas for young and adult carers.

What we need

We moved to new premises in September 2015 in response to the increasing demands on our support services. While our new location has lots of wonderful extra space, it’s in much need of some loving transformation to make it a welcoming haven and inspiring hub for all  unpaid carers across Angus. Specifically, we’d love to create a carers’ chill-out area for young and adult carers, and to create a homely place where the magic of togetherness can happen.

We have already received £2,400 from The Leng Charitable Trust to help build a bespoke reception desk;  £650 from our Volunteer Funding Group to purchase a fridge and water boiler; and £2,700 from IBB Trust, Scott Fund and Zuglu Drummers to help with refurbishments already completed; which is fantastic. We now  want to ask the crowd to raise the £5,000 we need to update our meeting  rooms and carers spaces. Our carers give so much, this is our chance to give them something back.

How you can help

We're looking  to raise £5,000 to cover the cost of materials, equipment and some labour, so that we can revamp the Angus Carers Centre.  It may be that some of our wonderful volunteers will also put on their decorating clothes and join the project – it’s always a real team effort here!

What we do

We provide many types of free services to unpaid carers in Angus across all age groups, including information and advice on caring roles, help and training with caring roles, local carer support groups, a Families Programme (for families with a disabled child or child with additional support needs), Short Breaks (which matches what carers need with available funding), Respite Groups for Young Carers, a Counselling Service, a Befriending service for over 50s, access to Concessionary Leisure  Services, Relaxation Therapies and provide bridging support to help carers access other services and support that can help unpaid carers.  You can read more about all the things we do for unpaid carers on our website.

Future plans

Your help  will:

• Reduce the social isolation of unpaid carers of all ages by providing them with a friendly, welcoming and familiar place to meet up with other carers.
• Provide a resource-rich and comfortable lounge area where young carers (aged 8 to 18) and adult carers can take part in a range of fun and educational activities.
• Increase income towards our unpaid carer activities by hiring out the revamped rooms (at a small charge) to other organisations.

Make Arbroath a better place by adding to the town’s range of community caring facilities.

What local unpaid carers say about Angus Carers Centre.

• "Activies with Angus Carers Centre is the light at the end of a tunnel, we thank the staff and volunteers who keep us together as a family unit,
• “The counselling service has helped me come to terms with my situation and how things may progress in the future.”
• “It is great to have time off from our caring role to do something for ourselves. Respite is probably the most important thing you can provide.
• “I like that you support carers outside their caring role & improve their mental health, wellbeing and provide emotional support.”

Carers Poetry 'Who Cares?' 

Who cares for the carers? To whom do we go?
Who carers for the carers? Please let me know.
Who cares for the carers when they're feeling sad?
Who cares for the carers when the day’s going bad?
Who cares for the carers? Angus Carers, that’s who.
So my heartfelt thanks go directly to you!

By SB
Carers' Day 2017.

Rewards and cake!

The next steps in this project depend on the help and generosity of your good selves. Every penny pledged will help us to reach our goal.

We have a range of cash pledges, starting from just £5.

• You can buy a coffee and cake for one, or more, of our fabulous carers.
• Your name in lights! – your name will go up on our 'Wall of Fame' in the centre and our website's 'Roll of Honour'.
• A ticket to our Grand Opening Evening in September. This will be a chance for donors to take advantage of our new, improved centre and sample some of the activities that we provide for carers.
• Many others to choose from!

Who we are and where we are

Established by unpaid carers in November 1996, we are a registered charity that provides free support, advice and services to over 2,400 young and adult carers across the region of Angus in Scotland. Our base is in the seaside town of Arbroath in Scotland, famous for its 12th Century Abbey, the Declaration of Arbroath (signed at the Abbey in 1320), its wonderful ‘smokies’ and the historic 36-0 football result recorded by ‘The Red Lichties’ (Arbroath  F.C.) in 1886.

Let's go for it!

Let's make this happen for our carers! Please make a pledge, support, help to spread the word, chat about it over a cuppa with family/friends/colleagues and give us a shout on Facebook or Twitter!

Thank you from all at Angus Carers - drop in and see us any time!

This project successfully funded on 27th March 2018