Volunteers at TCV Hollybush are celebrating the culmination of a four-year campaign to build a new volunteer base and meeting room.
They marked national Volunteers Week by getting the keys to the Roundhouse, following a £55,000 fundraising campaign.
The Roundhouse will provide a long-awaited warm place for volunteers to plan the day’s activities, enjoy a break when working outdoors and do preparatory work during the cold winter months.
It will also give Hollybush a much-needed accessible meeting space for its mental health peer support groups, therapeutic garden groups, visitors and course trainees.
John Preston, operations leader for TCV, hopes the Roundhouse will offer even more activities to the community. He said:
“We are really proud of having been able to raise funds to build the Roundhouse, which would not have been possible without the support of our volunteers, the local community, many charitable trusts, Torque UK – a logistics company with a major base nearby – and National Lottery funding.
“This is a brilliant way to say thank you to our volunteers for the great work they do.”
National Lottery funding, delivered by Big Lottery Fund, has supported the building through Outdoors Active and Well, a three-year partnership led by Leeds Mind with TCV and Hyde Park Source. This programme provides eight weekly sessions of gardening and wildlife walks, as well as mindfulness workshops.
James Harcourt, England grant-making director at Big Lottery Fund, said:
“It’s fantastic that National Lottery funding will be used to provide this new space for the Conservation Volunteers, helping them to make a difference in their local community. We think it’s really important to highlight how integral volunteers are to the success of National Lottery funded projects during Volunteer’s Week.”
The Roundhouse will be open for viewing at the annual plant sale on June 18th, Kirkstall Art Trail on 15th and 16th July and during Big Green Weekend on 24th September.
TCV Hollybush, off Broad Lane, Kirkstall, works with over 500 disadvantaged people to help them rebuild their lives, offering a safe haven where people can learn to be well again.
Read more about TCV Hollybush here.