HELP LOWESTOFT MENCAP - SAVE THE CENTRE! FIGHT FOR THE FORT!

✨ Who are we? ✨

We are Lowestoft and District Mencap, a UK charity, based in Lowestoft, Suffolk, that supports people with learning disabilities. People with mild to moderate learning disabilities often fall between the cracks when it comes to getting support, as they are not seen as severe enough to receive things like Direct Payments, but are still in need of guidance and support, to be able to live independently, find work, and feel like they are a part of their community. We provide social support via our two inclusive public community spaces: ❤ The Unity Centre ❤ and ❤ The Fort.❤

The Unity Centre is a charity shop and café, offering advice, befriending, & hate crime support. It hosts a variety of community activities, including karaoke, arts & crafts, and Bang & Crash percussion music sessions. They also offer sessions that focus on wellbeing, nutrition, and Groove dance fitness. Everyone is welcome to join in with our activities, and we are the perfect place to do volunteer work if you feel you would benefit from an environment with a more involved support system than the average workplace. Activities like our Bang & Crash sessions have proven so popular that we have taken our performance to local places, and have even led to us taking part in performances in The London Palladium, and The Royal Albert Hall!

Unity Youth Projects is Lowestoft and District Mencap Society's gaming-specialised department. Unity Youth Projects specialises in improving social connectivity and life/social skills through digital/IT-based and modernised projects and activities, such as videogames, card games and board games. It is based in The Fort, a bespoke gaming hub, social and creative space that was opened in December 2019. The Fort provides activities, resources and games for the community, specialising in providing enriching activities that will appeal to local young people. The Fort also maintains online community spaces via its Twitch channel and Discord server, to ensure that as many people as possible can be a part of the community, regardless of their physical mobility, personal or financial situation. ❤

✨ Why do we need your support? ✨

The Unity Centre has been open since 2011, expanding to open The Fort in a neighbouring unit in 2019. Over the years we have being growing, continuing to add new activities and provisions for our community.

We've been incredibly lucky to have had an amazing landlord, whose kindness and support has had a big impact on helping us survive the global pandemic, the resulting lockdowns and increasing cost of living. Unfortunately, he needs to look in to selling the property, but has generously given us until October 2025 to raise the money to buy the building ourselves before the property goes up for sale, even going so far as to offer us a big discount on the value of the property!

Not only would raising the money to buy the property help keep us safe long term, but it would also give us unlimited potential for things we can do to keep growing, to provide bigger and better things for the community!

✨ How can you help? ✨

£220,000 sounds like a lot, but it would take less than 2000 people each raising £10 per month to smash our goal! There lots of ways YOU can help!

• Share our fundraiser to as many people as you can!

• Reach out to any organisations or companies that you think would like to help us!

• Donate directly to the fundraiser, via a one-off or recurring donation!

• Do a fundraiser of your own (e.g. sponsored run, live stream, etc), and donate the profits to our fundraiser!

✨ Breakdown: ✨

£200,000 for the building

£20,000 to cover admin/legal fees

Note: Any surplus funds above £220,000 will go towards redesigning and improving the building!

We have set up a separate bank account for this fundraiser, so that all proceeds from this fundraiser are kept separate from our overall running costs.

❤ Thank you so much for any help you can offer, we appreciate you! ❤