New phone system for Brentwood Middleton Day Centre thanks to £1,000 donation

Lorenzo O’Reilly, Rochdale Exchange Manager, John-Crosby, Brentwood Manager and Michael Sharrocks

Brentwood Middleton Day Centre has installed a vital new telephone system thanks to a cash donation from Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre.

The day centre, in Long Street, received £1,000 from a community support fund set up by the shopping centre, which means they can continue providing support to homeless and vulnerable members of the community.

The support fund promises to match the cash already raised by organisations which are fundraising for community projects.

The day centre combined the money with £800 which they had themselves raised from other donations.

John Crosby, manager of Brentwood, said: “The problem is the [current phone system] is 20 years old and causing all sorts of problems. We therefore needed to replace it urgently and thanks to the £1,000 of funding we received from Rochdale Exchange, we are now able to do that.”

The centre regularly uses its telephones to contact agencies including the Department for Work and Pensions, drug and alcohol services, and the NHS, so a high-tech system is essential.

Mr Crosby added: “The funding from Rochdale Exchange was a real boon and without it we wouldn’t have been able to renew the system. We are very grateful to the centre management.”

Lorenzo O’Reilly, Manager of Rochdale Exchange, said his idea for the Rochdale Exchange support fund came from the guiding principles of the Rochdale founded co-operative movement: equality, treating people fairly, and encouraging people to work for mutual benefit.

He said: “The centre is the perfect example of the kind of enterprising local initiatives we have been looking to support with our scheme. They do some marvellous work in helping the homeless and other vulnerable adults in all sorts of ways and it has been a pleasure to be able to help them in this way.”