People have been urged to rally around a group dedicated to helping youngsters with special needs and turn a building attacked by vandals into a community hub.
The group called Dare 2B Different (main image) is based at the Quarry Hill Centre in Almondbury which has been plagued by vandals in recent years.
The vandals have left a trail of damage which is costing just short of £4,000 to fully repair and has eaten up a lot of the centre’s financial reserves so it has launched an appeal to pay for CCTV cameras to deter vandals and thieves from targeting the building again.
They have set up a fundraiser for £5,000 on funding platform Spacehive but with only around two weeks left they raised less than £1,000 so far. To pledge go to https://www.spacehive.com/quarry-hill-centre-community-hub
The centre has a kitchen, large hall, an art room and toilets so is an ideal community hub and people are welcome to hire it for meetings. It has full disabled access and a disabled toilet.
It’s been the home for Dare 2B Different for many years and around 40 young people – many with physical or learning disabilities – aged 13 to 25 from across Kirklees meet there every Wednesday evening.
Several are doing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards and so have been busy on projects such as cataloguing and caring for war graves in Almondbury, research on the Women’s Land Army during World War Two, research into the Votes For Women movement and looking after the garden at Almondbury Library.
Club treasurer Steve Langton said: “It’s been a tough last couple of years with all the vandalism we’ve suffered but the main damage to the building has now been repaired which is why it’s important we protect it with CCTV.
“People will know the Quarry Hill Centre as the old scout hut and it’s centrally-heated so is a great building for community meetings and events. We just need help to get the CCTV system bought and installed.”
The centre is behind St Michael and St Helen’s Church off Fleminghouse Lane in Almondbury and Dare 2B Different was set up there in 2005.
The main damage was caused when the vandals ripped down railings on the disabled access ramp and then used them to smash holes on the roof which then allowed water to pour inside causing damage to equipment, fixtures, fittings and even the youngsters’ artwork.
Other damage included guttering being pulled off and nearby fencing set on fire.
The repair work has included a new roof and windows and the doors and windows are now all protected with shutters.
Committee member Ashley Berry said: “We would like to protect The Quarry Hill Centre and grounds with security cameras which will be both interactive, alerting us with live images, and recorded on a control box.”
Anyone wanting to hire Quarry Hill Centre should email bookings@quarryhillcentre.co.uk
For general inquiries email enquiry@quarryhillcentre.co.uk
More information on the Quarry Hill website at https://www.quarryhillcentre.co.uk/
- Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
