The Big Bendrigg Reboot
The Big Bendrigg Reboot
If only life after Covid was as easy as flicking on a switch and turning everything back on again… a reboot might be a quick fix in the world of computers, but to get things back up and running at Bendrigg it’s going to take much more time, effort and money than a “flick of the switch”.
With the centre being closed for over a year, our grounds, buildings and equipment need some TLC before we can get our visitors back to Bendrigg again. However, whilst we have no income from residential visits we really need your help to get us back up and running again.
Our Grounds & Buildings
Our grounds and buildings require regular maintenance. We usually have our maintenance man working full time along with a team of regular volunteers, but to reduce the risk to our staff and our volunteers, we have had to restrict the number of people on site throughout the pandemic.
The great outdoors is wonderful, and we love the “wild” feeling of long grass, but for some areas, like our accessible woodland trail & cycle path, the weeds that have grown through are starting to make the path uneven and less accessible to our visitors.
Equipment
Our safety equipment such as lifts, hoists, harnesses and helmets, all have an expiration date and with 1 year knocked off, the shelf life of much of our equipment has come to an end and some now needs replacing including a transferable hoist (£2150) that enables our wheelchair users to be safely transferred out of their chair and an accessible seahorse aid (£2100) for our guests with physical disabilities.
So how can you help?
- Pick a project from the list below
- Decide whether you can give your time, money or a service in kind to help us complete the work.
- Make your donation or get in touch with our friendly team about volunteering or giving a gift in kind.
To Donate
You can donate towards our Reboot fund here
To Volunteer
Sign up today by emailing your name, number and details of which project you’d like to volunteer on to our Volunteer Coordinator Kate.
To give a gift or service in kind
If you can provide a service or gift in kind to help us with the projects below please get in touch with our Fundraising and Marketing Officer Martha
Project 1 – Woodland & Cycle Paths
The great outdoors is wonderful, and we have created lots of natural habitats to help wildlife thrive throughout our site, but some areas must be maintained. Our accessible woodland trail & cycle path, the weeds that have grown through are starting to make the path uneven and less accessible to our visitors who rely on a wheelchair to get around. Our cycle path & woodland path requires resurfacing with compact gravel to make exploring our site and taking part in cycling possible for our visitors with physical disabilities.
What we need
We will need to hire a digger & a dumper to level the paths and lay a new layer of compact gravel in order to make the cycle path easily accessible again.
Digger & Driver Hire 3 days – £600
Dumper Hire 3 days – £150
Gravel to resurface the track – £1400
Total cost of project £2150
Can you help?
You can make a donation towards the cost of this project here
Project 2 – Painting Party
Several structures around our site need weather proofing with a good lick of paint, ready for when our groups return. So whether it’s jazzing up our musical instrument garden or some more precise painting of our exterior wooden doors, benches and panels – we’d really appreciate your help with volunteering in May or June.
What we need
Wood paint & exterior building paint – £350 Grant from Cumbria Community Foundation
Brushes and Materials – £25 Donated by B&Q Kendal
5 volunteers to help us complete this project
Can you help?
Donate towards the cost of this project here.
If you’d like to volunteer for the painting party please email Kate with your details
Project 3 – Oakwood revamp
Our Oakwood building needs kitting out ready for our residential volunteers who work alongside our tutorial team with our groups who stay on site.
What we need
2 x double bed frame (£367) Grant from Cumbria Community Foundation
Skip Hire (£250) Donated by Think Recycling
3 x single bed frames (£360) Donated by Sealy + 3 new single mattresses!
Cleaning materials – £30 Donated by Sarah from Sweet Wheels
4 x duvets (£10 each – £40) Donated by Asda Kendal
4 x double bedding (mattress protectors £5 each, sheets £5 each and duvet covers £15 each – £100) Donated by Asda Kendal
Rollers Blinds / curtains for 7 short windows – £250 Donated by Homebase Kendal
Paint, Rollers, Trays, Sandpaper, filler – £100 Donated by B&Q Kendal
A new kettle £20 – Donated by Tricia Wood
UPDATE : We are so grateful to the amazing teams from Cumbria County Council and Amphigean who have signed up to volunteer and complete the work needed for this project.
Amphigean have also donated £200 towards the cost of the project
ASDA Kendal has donated Duvets and Bedding
Homebase Kendal have donated Roller Blinds
Cumbria Community Foundation have given a grant for 2 double beds
Think Recycling have donated a Skip
B&Q has donated paint and materials
Sealy have donated 3 Single Divans + 3 Single Mattresses
We now need to raise the funds to purchase the items above or have them supplied by a company as gifts in kind. Can you help?
Project 4 – Green Fingers
Can you lend a hand and help to get Bendrigg back to its best by sparing a day to weed, sweep, plant and tidy? Sign up with your family and friends to volunteer and bring along your gardening gloves, a spade and a bucket and get ready to muck in and make a difference.
Please email kate@bendrigg.org.uk to register your interest in volunteering on Saturday 12th June. Toilet facilities will be provided and volunteer numbers will be limited with people spread around our grounds to ensure your safety and make social distancing easy to accomplish.
What we need
Approximately 25 volunteers
Tea, Coffee, Biscuits £10 Donated by Sarah from Sweet Wheels
Milk and Cakes £10 Donated by Tricia Wood
A selection of outdoor hardy plants & compost £250 Donated by Homebase Kendal & Jenna Wood
Tractor fuel – £100
Total remaining £100 + staff time
Can you help?
Sign up to volunteer or let us know if you can give a gift in kind here
Project 5 – Reboot Refresh
The Lodge and Kinross exterior walls are showing the effects of the Cumbrian weather and as a result of having no regular maintenance last year they need to be painted.
What we need
To hire a painter and decorator with scaffolding, paint and materials will cost around £5000
Can you help?
We’d really appreciate your donation towards our reboot project.
Staff time – £1500
In order for these 5 projects to take place we also have to cover our staff time which goes into the planning, marketing, coordinating volunteers and our maintenance man overseeing the projects.
To donate to the Reboot Project and see how much we’ve raised here > https://bendriggtrust.enthuse.com/cf/reboot
Thank you for your support with our Reboot Project!
Read about the Impact that your support will have here.
There are lots of ways you can get involved with supporting Bendrigg. Find out more here.