Men's breakfast club launches at ABD Centre
THREE years on from a significant renovation, Bacup’s town centre community centre is flourishing and has just started a Men’s Breakfast Club.
In 2020, the ABD Centre in Burnley Road secured National Lottery funding, but the pandemic and lockdowns meant implementation was put on hold for six months.
Centre Manager Peter Dunn said: “We had a community building that was at risk; it had been forgotten by the community, and, even though things still happened inside the building, it was under used and needed a lot of work.”
Covid gave trustees of the charitable centre time to strategically plan work and Peter was appointed as centre manager along with key staff.
In January 2021, work began to upgrade the lift, renovate the heating and toilets and replace windows and doors. It was funded by a variety of grants from the National Lottery, Lancashire Environmental Fund and Rossendale Council’s High Streets Heritage Action Zone.
Peter said: “We have created a resource centre that is now used every day and is responsive to the needs of the community. I am passionate that this centre is here for the benefit of our community and is used by them.
“Our first 12 months of computer classes have now concluded and these will be continuing. We teach basic skills for beginners and offer more advanced courses depending on what the learners want to be able to do.
“We realised that we had a lot of activities that were mostly for women, arts, crafts, knitting and Zumba, and we didn’t want men to feel isolated. We wanted to integrate them into the ABD community.
“Men often visit the centre to drop their partners off for sessions and classes, or for social prescribing, to visit Bacup Family Centre or the Let’s Talk Project, so why not have activities for them in the centre?”
Through Bacup Cultural Consortium, Peter found out that Rossendale Chess Club was facing closure and looking for a new home, so he offered the organisation a room at the ABD.
The club, which has a mix of members including families, meets on Tuesday evenings when experienced competitive chess players share their knowledge.
Peter said: “They started in October and have an average of 10 to 16 people on a night and have had 28 through the door.”
Monday’s Men’s Breakfast Club has just been launched by Andy Robinson, who runs Rossendale Men’s Sheds, based at Haslingden Community Link.
Free breakfasts are now on offer every week from 11am to 1pm in the large downstairs Rose Room.
Peter said: “We have got a lot of donations from Tesco, Maundy Relief in Accrington has donated bread and the ABD has used reserves to make sure the club happens.
“If anyone would like to see an activity based here, please contact me to see if we can help to make it happen.”
For more information on the centre contact Peter on 01706 874111 or email pdunn@abdcentre.org.uk