Charity champions supporting community causes
Charity champions Challenge House, which provides vital support for multiple community causes, announced its latest corporate partnership with Willen Hospice.
The Bletchley based business hub, part of the Landmark commercial property portfolio, is home to multiple regional and international companies and charities.
Business Centre Manager, Kaye Townsend, said: “At Challenge House we’ve also opened our doors to offer vital support and much needed meeting spaces for community groups providing crucial services within the area - it’s a privilege to be able to help make a difference.”
Challenge House provides a base for the weekly meetings of The Man Cave and sister group The Lodge, free mental health support groups for men and women respectively. Community leaders from The Lodge said its women’s group wouldn’t be able to operate without Challenge House’s help providing spaces for their weekly Wednesday evening meetings and monthly wellbeing events. A sentiment echoed by The Man Cave, which meets at Challenge House every Thursday.
As well as raising awareness about forthcoming fundraising events, the charity collaboration with Willen Hospice has seen Challenge House set up a donation station collecting clothing and accessories for the charity’s community shops to help raise funds.
Keira Caso, Corporate Business Development Executive at the charity, said: “Willen Hospice provides free expert care and support for local people with a life-limiting illness, and their loved ones, at what may be the toughest time of their lives. Our Willen at Home team offer the only specialist palliative and end-of-life care in Milton Keynes that’s available to patients in their own home. Collaborating with hospitals, GPs and district nurses, we help patients with complex symptoms or needs to live well until they die, for however long that may be.
“Last year 86% of our patients were supported in the place where they live by our Willen at Home nurses. Only 13.8% of our running costs are met by ongoing NHS funding. This means we rely on the generosity of our supporters, like Challenge House, to help us raise around £8.7 million each year, so we can continue to offer our specialist care to the local community completely free of charge.
“Having Challenge House support us as a corporate partner is vitally important for us to be able to continue to offer our services, within the hospice and in patients’ homes. We really couldn’t do this without the backing of local companies like Challenge House.”
The significant investment which led to the refurbishment and transformation of Challenge House has helped to make it the ideal setting for the meetings hosted by The Man Cave and The Lodge. Catherine Murphy, a community leader for The Lodge, highlighted the difference it makes to members to have access to a modern, welcoming and comfortable environment.
Catherine said: “We’re there to offer a safe space for women to come, talk, be listened to and heard without any judgement. A mixture of people from a multitude of different backgrounds attend our meetings, all with differing needs. Some may attend because they feel they've had a bad day, others could be dealing with addiction, behavioural diagnoses or struggling to deal with self-harm or suicide. Challenge House is our biggest donator by gifting us the space; we wouldn’t be able to run on a weekly basis if it wasn’t for them.”
Wellness activities and events also hosted at Challenge House for group members include yoga, creative painting, sound bath sessions or breath work classes, which are free or discounted.
The Man Cave has been meeting at Challenge House for a year. Nick Freeman, a leader with the group, added: “Without the support of Challenge House and similar businesses, the Man Cave would not have the space or facilities to host meetings and support the men of Milton Keynes and surrounding areas.
“The meetings have, and continue to make a big positive impact on members’ lives. It’s a safe space for them to find support for whatever they may be facing in a judgment free environment. And above everything else, they find a community of likeminded men who want to show up for themselves, take accountability, learn and share tools that help with their day to day struggles.”