MEMBER ZONE


NAB RESPONDS TO COVID-19


Established in 1896 Northamptonshire Association for the Blind (NAB) provide a range of services for blind and visually impaired clients throughout Northamptonshire. Due to the Covid-19 crisis,


many of their services have been restructured to ensure clients are not isolated. The home visiting service is suspended but a telephone befriending programme has been launched. The popular Social-Eyes


programme that encouraged clients to meet and share activities is now provided online, with quiz nights, dance classes and a trip to a llama farm being live-streamed. The education programme delivered to primary schools by the NAB education team has also been suspended but there are plans to start the new academic year with an interactive programme. 2021 will be a year of celebration for NAB as they recognise 125


Activities before lockdown


years of work in Northamptonshire. NAB need to raise over £400,000 every year to continue providing services, together with their shop on Harborough Road and the NAB Mobile Sight Centre that travels throughout Northamptonshire. Partnership working will continue to form a vital part of their activity.


For details on how your business can get involved, please contact Vic Sheret on 07828975707


NEWMEMBERS


Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome its NEW MEMBERS. Membership offers your business a whole host of support services and ways to connect and network with other companies. Contact the Chamber membership team on 01604 490490


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MOMENTOUS MILESTONE FOR CHARITY In a series of two articles to celebrate their 40th year, Workbridge looks back on their journey so far.


Local charity and Chamber member Workbridge is 40 years old. They celebrated their 40th anniversary on 10 June 2020, honouring the ruby occasion with an online disco party for their service users at home. For the past 40 years, Workbridge,


as a charity and social enterprise, has embodied family values. First set up on 10th June 1980,


Workbridge was formed by local businessman Michael Jones and Dorothy Davidson, a social worker at St Andrew’s Hospital on Billing Road, Northampton. Both founders had the idea to create a setting that offered a “bridge to work” for people recovering from complex mental illness or living with a learning disability. Making use of derelict land on


the Old Laundry site of St Andrew’s Hospital, Workbridge set out to create working departments that would give people the skills they need to seek work in the community. Their first workshop, “contract packaging” – worked as a fulfilment service for small assembly items. Working with local employers, Workbridge would take on packaging work that their service users could fulfil and in


turn, local employers provided work experience to Workbridge service users in their place of work. With the support of St Andrew’s


Hospital, in 1993, Workbridge expanded their departments into Office Skills, a workshop where their service users manage the charity’s administration, and greet visiting guests on reception; and


creative workshops including ceramics, catering and horticulture. In the late 90s and 2000s


respectively, Workbridge set up a garden centre and coffee shop. Both are hugely popular today with Northampton’s residents. The garden centre and plant nursery is well known for great gardening advice, well cared for plants and


their coffee shop (twice crowned Northampton Food & Drinks Awards winners) bakes excellent cake and has a wonderful atmosphere. Each support service users with work experience. The income from sales also goes back into Workbridge services.


Visit: www.workbridge.org.uk


Workbridge in the 1990s 30 inbusiness AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020


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