Update January 2024

December 2023 ended with lots of fun activities held at the Princes Centre. The Jinglers gave a fantastic performance of an alternative Nativity at St Mary’s Church. The dancing angel was just one of the scenes creating a lot of laughs with the audience. There was much positive feedback and we are very grateful for the support of St Mary’s Church and for all the hard work put in by Sue Newton and the staff who enabled this to take place.

Scenes from the Nativity performance

At the Centre, there was a lot of party activities, fun Christmas games and a special Christmas dinner provided for all the clients who were served by the staff dressed up as Christmas elves and Santa, as well as entertainment provided by local bands.

Christmas party lunches and entertainment

A coach trip was organised to take clients to see the Christmas Lights in London and everyone had an amazing time. A big thank you to all the staff and volunteers who came along to help.

At other times, some of the clients were able to make and decorate small Christmas cakes and others made some beautiful oasis flower arrangements with flowers provided by Marks and Spencer’s. There have been many other activities including a special one called ‘These Hands’ where photos were taken of clients’ hands and put with a few facts about their life, which feedback indicates has given pleasure to many of their families.

We are very grateful for donations from St Mary’s Church which will help to fund a tail lift for one of our vehicles and to the Kop Hill Climb for one which will help to fund the replacement of an unsafe path at the rear of the lower hall. We have also grateful for a generous donation from St Dunstan’s Church. A big thank you to all who helped raise further funds by helping with the collection outside Tescos. We were very impressed with the generosity of the shoppers. Support such as this helps us to upgrade our facilities for our clients’ benefit whilst maintaining attendance fees at a very affordable rate.

If you or your loved one would like a free taster of what we have to offer or would like to consider volunteering at the Princes Centre, please contact our manager Kim on 01844 345105 or Mags at Bourne End 01628 52702

Maggie Wooster Keyte