Young Cumbria operates a facility called Isthmus Cottage on the shores of Derwentwater near Keswick as a 22 person residential facility, to give disadvantaged young people an experience of the outdoors in the Lake District. Isthmus Cottage is a well loved facility in an amazing location, and has been operated by Young Cumbria for many decades. Young Cumbria continue to find young people who have never visited the Lake District despite living within thirty to forty miles of the World Heritage Site. The organisation is proud that Isthmus Cottage is often the first experience these young people have of being away from home and accessing the outdoors. Local businesses provide a variety of water based activities, such as kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding. In addition, there are endless opportunities for walking and cycling straight from the cottage door.
The property required essential refurbishment to maintain health and safety standards and ensure young people continue to have a positive experience of the facility. We planned to upgrade the property to provide accommodation that meets the requirements of young people and their leaders today and to continue to run Isthmus Cottage as the unique residential facility it is, primarily for disadvantaged young people in Cumbria.
Following a request for support on Cumbria Exchange, Bell Group rose to the challenge and offered to undertake the full internal redecoration of Isthmus Cottage, with support from its partner PPG who were delighted to donate the paint and painting materials. Bell Group arranged a volunteer day to ensure the full redecoration could be completed within the tight timescales. Volunteers from Bell Group, Young Cumbria, PPG, Morgan Sindall and PPM attended on the day and the project was a remarkable success and provides a great showcase to how businesses can work together to have a collective and beneficial impact.
Mike Neile, Branch Manager from Bell Group added “We were delighted to support Young Cumbria in their goal of refurbishing Isthmus Cottage. As a business we are proud to say we are committed to having a social impact in the local area and endeavour to support organisations whose work benefits local people and has a positive impact in the communities in which we live and work”.
Sue Starkey, Finance Manager, Young Cumbria said “The support we received from the Bell Group was amazing. The atmosphere on the day the work took place was great and the difference at the end of the day was unbelievable. We now have a facility that is fit for purpose and has a “wow” factor when our visitors arrive. Our first group to use the cottage was Maryport Boys and Girls Club and Bryan Thompson said they were surprised and delighted at what had been done to Isthmus Cottage. The young people had a great weekend”.
What was achieved?
- Full internal redecoration of Isthmus Cottage
Benefits to the Organisation?
- Substantial cost savings to Young Cumbria
Where can if find out more about the parties involved?