Member groups of the newly formed LGBT Community Groups Network have been given shared office space to carry out their day-to-day administration, and to hold meetings.
The office space is provided free, with electricity, insurance and wi-fi included. Centric Charity which manages unused office space at Prestamex House, opposite Preston Park, recently advertised for charities to take up free offices and Lunch Positive successfully bid for one.
Lunch Positive have extended their licence to facilitate a dedicated space for member groups of the LGBT Community Groups Network.
Gary Pargeter, is the volunteer project manager at Lunch Positive, and the Community Works facilitator for the Network.
He said: “We’re incredibly pleased to have secured this extra space for our smaller LGBT groups. From personal experience, running a community group often involves more administration that people realise. Having good facilities to carry this out and plan our work makes a huge difference to how well we are able to run our groups, and deliver our services. The cost of renting offices is prohibitive. Most of our smaller groups are run by volunteers. Working from home can sometimes be very difficult, especially when work is pressured. It’s important to be able to separate work and personal lives. We hope this space will help the people running groups and their groups work. Another fantastic advantage is that our groups will be able to spend informal time with each other, and hopefully also benefit from getting to know each other well.”
The LGBT office space is accessible 6 days a week during office hours, open plan, has nine ‘hot desks’, filing storage and a meeting area. Groups have use of a shared kitchen, and a larger meeting area out of hours by arrangement. The space has been furnished through the donation of equipment from Freegle, and a community development grant of £500 from Sussex Community Foundation.
To find out more about the LGBT Community Groups Network, EMAIL:
Or telephone: 07725 647455
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