The people of West Howe are at the heart of this charity and it’s their passion and commitment that has seen it go from strength to strength.

It began in 2009 when local people wanted a place for the community to come together. The founders wanted to improve lives and make the area a better place to live.

Today it offers a warm and welcoming community hub and wellbeing café at the Henry Brown Centre in Cunningham Crescent and the nearby Inspiring Change charity shop, whose staff offer friendship as well as bargains.

“I’m incredibly proud that our residents are at the helm of all our projects,” said Charity Manager Diane Humphries.

“I also want to acknowledge CAN’s incredible support around governance, HR, data protection and so much more. We know help is always just a phone call away,” she added.

Lisa is one of the charity’s great success stories. She started working in the charity shop in 2014 and began volunteering at events and attended workshops as her confidence grew.

Her great passion is cooking and when the local café closed, she launched a Friday morning breakfast club.

The club became so popular that Lisa completed kitchen management training and when the café needed a paid member of staff, she secured the role. Today the café opens four days a week.

West Howe Community Enterprises runs a huge range of services, including:

• family activities
• health and wellbeing support groups
• language support groups
• life-long learning groups
• recycling opportunities
• social events
• a community choir
• youth activities

“What I love about this place is it brings together all generations under the same roof. We provide a place for people to get involved in the local community, to volunteer, to learn new skills or simply make new friends.

“Our community is a better place because of the work of our volunteers and staff.”

For more visit westhowe.net or call the Henry Brown Office on 01202 580299 or the Inspiring Change Shop on 01202 570077.