Foundry Street Community Centre: January 2026 Newsletter

january_2026_newsletter

Happy New Year to all our friends, volunteers and community members!

January gave us a gentle start to 2026. With the New Year falling close to the weekend and a rather dramatic storm forecast early on, a few sessions were cancelled. In true Yorkshire fashion, the storm never quite delivered what it promised. Still, it gave us a quieter month to regroup, refresh and prepare for a busy year ahead.

🛠 Volunteer Saturday Success

We launched our new Volunteer Saturday at the end of January. The idea is simple. Once a month, volunteers come together to tackle jobs around the Centre.

This month we had two Trustees and one volunteer roll up their sleeves. While numbers were small, we cleared several long-standing jobs, fitted new curtains in the Lower Ground lounge, started preparing the ET fire exit for painting, and gave the ground floor a thorough deep clean.

We will continue meeting on the last Saturday of each month and would love to see more friendly faces join us.

👏 A Huge Thank You to Our Volunteers

Community centres do not run on goodwill alone. They run on people giving their time.

In January:

  • Trustee hours: 137
  • Volunteer hours: 28.5

Every hour given strengthens our community. Thank you.

💛 Grant News

We were delighted to receive a donation from Staying Well towards the cost of our new kitchen. This is a fantastic boost and very much appreciated.

🏡 Our Regular User Groups

Even in a quieter month, the Centre remained busy with activity. Here are just some of the groups who call Foundry Street home:

  • Sowerby Bridge Boxing Club
  • Sowerby Bridge Karate Club
  • Sowerby Bridge Table Tennis
  • Thursday Table Tennis
  • Cindy’s Silver Stompers
  • Keep Active Fitness
  • Languages for Fun Spanish and French
  • Narcotics Anonymous
  • Yoga with Olivia
  • Unmasked Mental Health
  • Big Hugs
  • Tai Chi and Tai Chi for Dementia
  • Chat Room and Family History
  • Art Therapy
  • Medicine Drum Journey
  • Youth Justice Team
  • Rainbows, Brownies and Girl Guides
  • Seated Stompers
  • Pickleball
  • Rugby Tots

We also hosted Reed Wellbeing diabetes sessions, Sunday table tennis drop-ins, a birthday party, a Scout volunteers meeting and another of our popular winter history talks delivered by Sheila Eastwood.

🧺 Community Kindness

Our free Children’s Clothes Swap took place on 29 January. These sessions are a brilliant example of community helping community.

📅 Looking Ahead to February

February is already shaping up to be busy.

  • Our AGM takes place on Tuesday 3 February
  • David Glover will be delivering his history talk on the Trams of Halifax on 12 February

Behind the scenes, we will also be reviewing service requirements, planning maintenance work and progressing plans for the stair lift and related grant funding.

🤝 Community Anchor Role

As part of our wider community role, Andrew continues to represent the Centre within local partnership work, including meetings with the NHS Integrated Neighbourhood Health Steering Group and the Integrated Neighbourhood Team for Calderdale.

This ensures Foundry Street remains connected, informed and actively involved in shaping local support services.

Thank You

January may have been quieter, but it reminded us of something important. Even in stormy weather, this Centre stands because of the people who care about it.

Here is to a busy, bright and community-filled February.

If you would like to volunteer, hire a room or join a group, please get in touch. We would love to welcome you.