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Growing charity set for new home

Bureau staff getting ready for the big move on 5th April.

An expanding Glossop charity is on the move to a new base at the former Heritage Centre in Bank House at 22 Henry Street, Glossop.

The Bureau, founded as Glossop Volunteer Bureau almost 40 years ago in 1979 to establish much needed services for local people across Glossopdale that could be developed and run by volunteers, has grown in recent years to cover a whole range of new support projects, sessions and services.

From its modest beginnings the community self-help charity started out life at 2 Chapel Street with a handful of staff and small core of volunteers and has now grown to 15 staff and more than 175 volunteers helping Glossopians struggling with issues such as loneliness, isolation, mental and physical health conditions and disabilities.

But according to the charity’s partnership and operations manager Damien Greenhalgh, the growth – which in the last 18 months has seen the creation of a pre-employment support project, social prescribing service followed by the expansion of the charity’s sessions for those living with long-term health conditions – has placed considerable strain on the charity’s current High Street East home at Howard Town House, next to Glossop Leisure Centre.

So from Monday, 9th April, the charity will be based at Bank House opposite Norfolk Square next to Sandra’s florist, which the charity’s workers saw advertised as offering more space than currently available in a more central location.

Commenting on The Bureau’s new home in the heart of Glossop town centre Damien Greenhalgh, partnership and operations manager, said:

“It’s going to be a tremendous wrench leaving our current home but Bank House’s additional office and meeting space and café style layout downstairs will help us to improve and further develop our vital community services.”

“This will be a home-coming of sorts, as many residents will remember as Glossop Volunteer Bureau we were once based at 10 Henry Street, with the pleasant Norfolk Square opposite and easy access to shops, the train stations and buses, all the hard work involved in organising and carrying out the move will be long forgotten.”

The move will consolidate many social activity and wellbeing sessions that are currently spread out in community venues across the town such as Bradbury Community House.

Damien explained that:

“Our well known and loved Time Out Shopping and Seated-Exercise groups will be joining us in our new premises and will be expanding. We are also happy to confirm that there will be new sessions and support groups for those living with dementia and their carers starting in soon after we’re in.”

“Whilst where we are based may have changed over the years, where ever we are, our staff and volunteers will remain as committed to providing community solutions for people right across Glossopdale as we ever were be that through snow, rain and sunshine.”