The following is correspondence Conway Mill Trust received from Deborah Cross, Manager of Dove House in Derry, Northern Ireland.
At the moment all of our services are secured until March 2011 as we have retained all of the full-time and part-time posts associated with each project. This is fantastic and will ensure the same level of delivery as previous years.
However, we have limited running and programme costs attached to each of the projects and this in itself can be difficult due to the amount of funds necessary to keep things ticking smoothly. We have been fundraising to help build up a reserve at this time which can be used for running and programme costs; this, however, is not exhaustive and we continually need to keep fundraising.
Aside from the funding pressure of the last few months, everything has been great here at Dove House. We are presently in the process of planning for the summer months and also the feile 2010 which Dove House plays a central role in delivering.
More recently we have employed six new members of staff through the step ahead government funded programme for unemployed people. This has helped six people gain employment and furthermore has enabled Dove House to put community support services in place for older and vulnerable individuals throughout the local community. This includes services such as gardening, painting, decorating, respite support, befriending, listening ear, etc.
Deborah
