Titchfield Close Day Centre in Maidstone is the latest community project to benefit from Nationwide’s Social Value Fund.
The day centre, which serves residents of Golding Homes-managed properties in the surrounding area, is a vital space for the community, serving as a venue for social activities and events to combat loneliness. Residents have built a strong and supportive sense of community and regularly use the day centre kitchen and garden to bring people together through bake sales, BBQs, and fundraising events for local charities.
Following requests for a new, working cooker during resident and community meetings, Golding Homes approached Nationwide for support.
“Titchfield Close is such a wonderful community,” says Leigh Cutts, OPAL Advisor, at Golding Homes. “The day centre is a wonderful space that’s regularly used by the residents, and they have been really passionate about how these kinds of improvements could transform the centre and help to create more events that reduce isolation, help neighbours get to know each other and support the community.
“Having a reliable cooker in the day centre kitchen also provides a safe alternative for residents to use, should problems ever arise in their own properties. And following the sad loss of someone in their community, they also felt strongly that having a defibrillator onsite could literally be a life saver.”
Using their Social Value Fund, Nationwide have donated a new range cooker and a defibrillator to the day centre, with both now installed and in full working order.
Leigh adds: “On delivery of the items, our residents were absolutely blown away. They already have plans for new coffee mornings, BBQs and even a Sunday Roast Club. It will make such a difference to the community and one day, that defibrillator could save a life.”
Kevin Caveney, Director of Commercial Sales at Nationwide Windows & Doors said: “With studies showing that early defibrillation within 3 – 5 minutes of collapse can increase survival rates by as much as 70%, saying yes to the defibrillator was a no-brainer.
“Day Centres like Titchfield Close provide vital services and connections for communities. The new range cooker is large enough to cater for large groups and will be a great resource to help support more events to combat loneliness – a great use of our Social Value Fund.”
