Update January 2025
We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year. December was a busy month at the Princes Centre. A big event was the Jinglers performing their ‘Farewell Concert’ at St Mary’s for Rev David Williams, one of our trustees who has now left the area to move to Wales. They wanted to thank him for all his support over the years. It was a huge success. David was an enthusiastic participant of the Jinglers. A collection was organized outside Tescos to advertise our presence in the town and we raised just under £900 including Gift Aid, and we are very grateful to the generous shoppers who donated and all the helpers who endured the cold. The money will be used to enhance the experiences of our clients.
There were lots of preparations for Christmas and activities including special Christmas dinners for the clients and volunteers. Some of the trustees joined the staff in dressing up as elves to assist with the catering. Our cook, Jackie, did an amazing job. There has been dancing, singing and lots of fun with entertainment from the Hillbillies, the Black Dog Band and Elvis and also a group of pupils from Risborough Secondary School who came along to sing carols for the clients.
We are very pleased to make the following announcements: Mags West, our current manager at Bourne End has gained a Distinction on her EPA following a long training period. She is now a Chartered Manager. With the reorganisation of management, she will soon be taking on the role of Centre Manager in Princes Risborough, whilst Kim has been promoted to General Manager. Our new Manager for our centre at Bourne End is Marina Glen and Lyndsey Hayward has been promoted to be Deputy Manager there. We wish them every success in their new roles.
Due to a large legacy received last year which has made this project possible, work to replace the downstairs roof is about to start. Scaffolders will be here first, then the solar panels will be removed, then the roof will be replaced, then the solar panels reinstalled and finally the scaffolding will be removed. We anticipate the work taking 6-8 weeks to complete. A smaller project is the replacement of the front fascia. Internal changes include moving furniture around in the rooms downstairs. The IT room is now in what was the quiet room along with the sofa, table and chairs. We have purchased two new laptops for the clients and look forward to seeing them being used.
If you would like to support the Princes Centres in any way or if you or your loved one would like a free taster of what we have to offer, please contact Mags on 01844 345105 or Marina at Bourne End 01628 52702.
Maggie Wooster Keyte