About the Organisation
www.facebook.com/CornerstoneChurchGrimsby/
Situated in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, Cornerstone Community Church of the Nazarene is a vibrant local Church in the heart of Grimsby.
The Church has a significant local presence with a strong focus on community outreach and support, with volunteers delivering a range of services for families, children and young people.
Currently, activities include:
- A weekly Kids’ Club
- A weekly Youth Club
- Kids’ fun days during school holidays
- A low-priced community cafe
- Monthly games night
- Monthly movie night
- Outings for the kids and holidays for the youth club
The church is situated in an area which scores amongst the lowest 10% on the deprivation index. There are significant drug problems in the area and a lack of local services since the closure of Sure Start centres and other parent and toddler groups.
Many of the service users are young single mothers with multiple children. Amongst the young people who attend the youth club, most are or have been carers and many have mental health issues.
In 2021, a set of improvements to the premises were undertaken to enable it to become a more useable multipurpose space. The building was opened up and windows were replaced to improve ventilation. These changes have enabled the church to start a soft play group, which is currently held three times a week. It has proven to be very popular, and they have had to implement a booking system to cope with demand.
Request details
The church members believe that the high ceilings within the building have scope to accommodate a second floor. They would like to explore the potential to create one, so that the Kids’ Club and Youth Club could have more room and the soft play could be open more regularly. The local council are supportive and previously helped to fund the opening of the café.
A pot of money has been identified within the church which could be used to carry out this remodelling work. However, they must first demonstrate the viability of the project before they can access this funding.
They would be very grateful for any offers of pro bono support from an Architect to provide design ideas and options to realise the potential of the space and to work with a Quantity Surveyor (already identified) to establish costings and budget requirements.
Timeline
There is not currently a fixed deadline but they are keen to move this work forward ASAP.