Foundry Street Community Centre Newsletter – July 2026

26th September 2026

Welcome to our July newsletter!

July was a relatively quiet month at Foundry Street Community Centre, with many of our regular groups, attendees, trustees and volunteers taking a well-earned break during the school holidays.

Although things were a little quieter than usual, there has still been plenty happening behind the scenes, including maintenance work, new groups, community events and plans for the months ahead.

Centre News

Our Trustee meeting was held on 14 July, followed by our Management Meeting on 27 July.

Several of our user groups took a break for the school holidays, while keeping their regular slots active and ready to return.

Great Get Together

On Sunday 5 July, we took part in the Great Get Together at Crow Wood Park, following the success of last year's event.

We had a slightly larger stall this year and also sold second-hand books. More than 100 people visited our stall, helping us raise just over £36 through sales and donations.

We were also delighted to welcome the Calderdale Deputy Mayor to our stand.

Thank you to everyone who came along, supported us and helped make the event such a success!

Moving to the Cloud

We have been awarded a Microsoft Windows 365 charity licence free of charge.

Maintenance & Improvements

There has been plenty of work going on around the Centre, despite the quieter summer period.

Inside the Centre

We have installed a Ring camera in reception, positioned to cover the front entrance porch, side entrance area, hall stairs and office.

As we now have three Ring cameras across the site, we have taken out an annual subscription so that recordings can be retained and reviewed when necessary.

We have also:

Installed CCTV signage around the Centre
Completed a CCTV Risk Assessment
Registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Volunteer Saturday

Our Saturday volunteer morning was quieter than usual because of holidays, with five people helping out, plus Terry, who has offered to volunteer but isn't available on Saturdays.

Despite the smaller team, we still managed to get a lot done:

Gave the kitchen a thorough clean, including running the dishwasher through a cleaning cycle
Cleaned windowsills, doors and other areas
Sorted and organised games in the ET cupboard, including Scrabble and dominoes
Created a cardboard template for the memorial planned for the Undercroft
Touched up paintwork in the Undercroft
Varnished the inside of the under-stairs cupboard as a trial
Installed the power lead for the reception Ring camera
Put a new clock up in the ET Lounge

We've also installed a new dado rail in the Undercroft beside the two toilets. The wall had been getting scuffed by tables, so the rail will help protect the plasterwork. It will be painted green to match the rest of the area.

Outside the Centre

We've measured the car park and drawn up plans for the area.

The next step is to survey and clean out the drains before looking into the costs involved in resurfacing the car park.

George has also cleared one of the old roof drainage outlets near the garage, in an effort to establish where the drain leads.

What's Happening at the Centre?

We welcomed a new user group this month – Decades Reloaded, which offers keep-fit sessions in the hall on Fridays.

We're also pleased that Rugby Tots has decided to continue running throughout the school holidays rather than taking its usual end-of-term break.

Our Regular User Groups

We're proud to provide a home for such a wide range of groups and activities, including:

Sowerby Bridge Boxing Club
Sowerby Bridge Karate Club
Sowerby Bridge Table Tennis
Thursday Table Tennis Club
Cindy's Silver Stompers
Keep Active Fitness
Languages for Fun – Spanish
Languages for Fun – French
Narcotics Anonymous
Yoga with Deb
Unmasked Mental Health
Big Hugs
Tai Chi with Olivia
Chat Room & Family History
Art Therapy
Youth Justice Team
Rainbows, Brownies & Girl Guides
Seated Stompers with Carolyn
Rugby Tots
Spectrum – Neurodivergent Self-Help Group
Decades Reloaded

There's something for a huge range of ages and interests, and we're always pleased to see the Centre being used by so many different parts of our community.

Monthly Activities

We also hosted:

Grief Café (PCN) – 10 July
Medicine Drum Journey – 11 July
Children's Clothes Swap – 30 July

Looking Ahead

Indoor Kurling
Andrew is investigating the possibility of starting an indoor Kurling group after visiting Tod College. A group in Rastrick is already using a set, so we're looking into how this might work at Foundry Street. We've also spoken to Emma Carter at Activity Calderdale about potential grant funding for equipment.

We're currently thinking about a possible winter start.

Lime Mortar Training
We're looking at running a lime mortar training course at the Centre in partnership with Todmorden College.

The college would provide the tutor and materials, with the course starting with classroom-based learning before moving outside to practise lime mortaring on our stonework.

Pickleball
We're also in discussions about running a beginners' Pickleball class in partnership with Queens Tennis Club.

The proposed format would be a group of eight, with four people on court and four resting before rotating. We're looking into grant funding to help with equipment and potentially tutor costs, keeping the sessions as affordable as possible.

Other Ideas

We're also at the early stages of exploring:

A Stroke Recovery self-help group for survivors and carers
A winter games/activity group for seniors, potentially running from October through to May

We'll keep you updated as these ideas develop.

Thank You to Our Trustees & Volunteers

A huge thank you to everyone who gives up their time to help keep Foundry Street Community Centre running.

During July, our recorded hours were:

Trustees: 102.25 hours
Volunteers: 40.05 hours

That's a fantastic contribution, especially during the quieter holiday period.

Community Connections

We're continuing to build relationships with organisations across Sowerby Bridge and Calderdale.

Rushbearing

We're also planning to get involved with the upcoming Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing, taking place over the weekend of 5–6 September.

Volunteers from Foundry Street Community Centre are planning to walk with the procession and help collect funds. The money raised will be split 50/50 with Rushbearing.

For us, this isn't primarily about fundraising – it's about being visible, getting involved and strengthening our connection with the local community.

Looking Ahead to August

Our main priorities for August are:

Finding more user groups and sessions to increase activity at the Centre
Planning our upcoming events, including fayres and open days, through to Christmas
Continuing with decorating and snagging work
Giving the outside areas one final tidy-up before the wetter weather arrives

A Big Thank You!

Foundry Street Community Centre is only able to keep going because of the people who use it, volunteer, support our events and get involved in the wider community.

Thank you to all our trustees, volunteers, user groups and visitors for everything you do.

Here's to another busy few months at Foundry Street Community Centre!