For the last 3 years we have been working out of the basement of a community centre, it's now time for for us to expand and adopt a greater professional appearance.
Who: We are a CIC that uses games for education and community building. We work 1:1, in small groups, or on a larger scale when we host events. A lot of our work uses Roleplaying Games to foster academic skills and creativity in children. We also play a lot of boardgames. We host regular games nights & days for children, families, and adults. And we run holiday clubs for children at cost. We also have a boardgames library of nearly 1,000 games and an RPG library of nearly 100 books, which both are ever-growing. We have a team of educators and specialists in a support structure of adults and children who steer what we do.
What: We need this money to upscale our base of operations. We want a dedicated Roleplaying room, a home for the games library (which will double for a second RPG space), and an area for parents to be.
We are going to be offering both a Monday night older-teen after school group. This group has been requested within the area and will give children the opportunities they otherwise won't have to take part in hobbies that will last them a lifetime. It is also a welcoming space for teenagers to be themselves and shed the problems of peer pressure and explore what they could be in a fantasy environment.
We will also fund our Saturdays at our old venue in the Rees Centre in Plympton. This was a well loved and used Welcome/Warm Space over the last two winters, but funding has not been present to make it happen again.
The initial £1,650 will go towards paying back the deposit we require for the location.
The next £1,000 with go towards shelving.
After that, we are hoping to place new flooring down and get the items that make the space inviting to everyone that comes in.
Why: We know that what we do makes a difference, but we need to look the part before we will be taken notice of. The skills that we bring to Devon and Cornwall are unique and we are proud of what we do.
When: Our aim is to be ready by the October half-term, then we can invite members of the local council, learning authority, CICs and community leaders to come and see what we do, and why we are important. Have have already been lent the deposit by a pair of our supporters, we need to pay that back as soon as we can.