Ripon Community Link celebrates opening of new workshop with thanks to volunteers, local business, and the National Lottery

 

Ripon Community Link are celebrating the successful completion of a renovation project to create a workshop that will benefit its service users, staff and visitors to the popular Walled Garden.

Thanks to the enormous generosity of dedicated volunteers giving their time and skills alongside donations from four local business and a private donor Ripon Community Link has installed a new workshop at the Walled Garden.

 

An enormously dedicated volunteer, supported by a team of 5 other volunteers has taken on a labour of love and fully renovated an old barn over the past 5 months, creating a safe workshop space for adults with learning disabilities.  The workshop will enable service users to develop a range of skills as they learn woodwork practice. All items produced will then be sold in the Garden to raise funds for the charity.

Local business including Ellis Bates, Moduloft, Durtona Kitchens and ilke Homes have provided materials or financial support to enable the workshop renovation. 

The Charity also has the support of the National Lottery who have provided funding for dedicated staff time to provide expert learning opportunities for service users.

Thanks to a comprehensive home support programme and changes to the learning spaces on site, the charity has fully supported its beneficiaries throughout the entire Covid pandemic, and since November last year, has welcomed its service users back to on-site sessions.

 Victoria Ashley, Ripon Community Link Chief Executive, said: “I would like to thank all our amazing volunteers, the local businesses, and the National Lottery for their combined generosity and support of our charity. Without their support none of this would be possible. “The pandemic has posed enormous challenges for us, and this development enables us to have an additional space on site helping us to continue to deliver our services whilst protecting service users with social distancing in place. This project will improve the range of services we offer providing even more learning opportunities for our beneficiaries.  We are very excited to see what wonderful items will be created and sold in our onsite shop"

Michael Cope the Managing Director of Ellis Bates - based in Harrogate said “I am very happy to be able to show my support for this highly thought of Ripon charity by giving to the Workshop appeal. I’ve visited the Walled Garden and it’s a wonderful community asset that benefits disabled people of all ages”

Paul Ashley of Durtona kitchens said  “Durtona is proud to support Ripon Community Link, a local Charity which delivers so much to people who deserve access to high quality facilities”

 Paul Thompson of Moduloft said, “it is wonderful to see the development opportunities offered to individuals, and we are proud to have Ripon Community Link as our Charity partner”

Carolyn Sands, Chair of Trustees said: “This project is a wonderful step forward for the Charity and we are extremely grateful to all of those that have been able to help us with this major development”

 The charity is also fundraising for a new building at the Walled Garden site which will provide additional classroom space.

 

If you would like to support the work of Ripon Community Link by volunteering, please contact [email protected] or if you make a donation to their build fundraising campaign at https://www.justgiving.com/ripponcommlinkFurther information about Ripon Community Link is available from its website, https://www.riponcommunitylink.org/