A community lifeline is celebrating after JCB stepped in with vital heating bill support to help see it through the winter.
Rocester Warm Space project based in the village’s St Michael’s Church opens its doors from Monday to Thursday every week to give community activity and friendship groups a place to meet and save on their home heating.
Now JCB has donated £5,000 to help St Michael’s with increased heating bills and ensure it can continue to be a hub for the local community and surrounding villages through the winter.
The Rocester Warm Space is open every Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4pm and we serve free hot drinks and soup throughout the day. People can just come along and play board games, read newspapers, do crafts, or just sit and chat with the volunteers who run the scheme. All of the groups using the church have increased in size in recent months so there is definitely a growing need for a space which people can use as an alternative to heating their own homes. Our heating bills have now increased by £1,000 a month and we are so grateful to JCB for helping us to help the local community in this way.
Susan Maiden Dalton | Churchwarden
JCB employee of 53 years, Ian Roberts, who is also a churchwarden at St Michael’s, handed over the £5,000 donation on behalf of the company. Former manufacturing engineer and now a part-time JCB tour guide Ian said: “The church aims to be at the heart of the community and, of course, many of those who form our congregation and use the Warm Space, have connections with JCB, so it is fantastic that the company has stepped in to help.”
Groups using the church space include Little Angels parents and toddlers every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, daily pensioners’ gatherings, art and craft clubs, a new big screen movie each Wednesday afternoon and The Men’s Shed group, who meet weekly for making, mending and companionship. Anyone interested visiting Rocester Warm Space at St Michael’s Church can contact Susan on 07816 084341.