Having successfully completed the cafe and reception area on the ground floor with last year´s Crowdfunder, we have spent the last year creating the shells of the rooms and areas which will really open up TLC for meetings, classes and events in the huge former retail space downstairs. 

We have had the  phenomenol opportunity with this Crowdfunder campaign of being offered matchfunding (by Access-The Foundation for Social Investment) on all donations (up to £150) of three times the donation.

Now that we have reached our target that generous matchfunding has come to an end, BUT we have also had pound for pound matchfunding  from AVIVA Foundation and this continues, as does our campaign! Every donation will continue to be doubled thanks to AVIVA Foundation 

The completion of this phase will bring further opportunity to grow the centre and ensure sustainability for the future by generating more income to support the centre to grow,

We also started our "Make Your Mark" project which is creating a mammoth progress flag 5 metres by 3 metres in the reception area made up of 6000 individual ceramic tiles each created by individual donors. The virtual walk through video illustrates what that will look like. Many of our rewards in this campaign include creating tiles to populate our beautiful community wall.

Create and fix your tile here, and tell us your story, or that of somebody you´d like to memorialise, and become a permanent part of our community´s history."Buy" your tile with a £20 donation, and release an extra £20 in match funding.

By completing the fit out  we can increase our capacity as a warm hub during the Winter months, as well as our ability to reduce the experience of loneliness, social isolation and consequent effects on physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing (which disproportionately impact our LGBTQ+ communities) by organising more events, classes, meet ups, lunch and supper clubs, including "pay what you feel you can" opportunities, including for food.

We now need a last push to fit out these spaces and realise our ambitions to build on the benefits which we have already acheived using the cafe upstairs by making full use of the opportunities that will be opened up for us, and making the centre truely sustainable.

As you will see from the virtual walk through video this will create:

• Cinema/Large meeting Room
• Central Lounge
• Gallery
• Community Radio Studios
• Classrooms/Smaller meeting rooms
• Kitchen/Diner/Lounge for groups to meet and prepare and share meals together
• Youth room
• A new toilet block (we currently have just the one toilet)