Help The Prout Bridge Project

Update: The #PBPReachingOut campaign to deliver accessible activities and support for people in and around Beaminster has raised more than £14,000 in the first week. This includes a £6,000 pledge from Sport England Return to Play: Active Together.
In their words

“The words proud and humbled don’t quite cut it. The community has truly heard our call and helped us raise more than £14,000 in the first week of going live! Thank you so much to all of you for your generous support, please keep spreading the word and have an amazing weekend knowing that the Prout Bridge Project will be back out and about soon!”

Original article:

The Prout Bridge Project has launched a campaign to fund a new Community Outreach Programme via Crowdfunder – #PBPReachingOut

The Project needs to buy, kit out and staff a vehicle – so that the charity can remotely provide support and activities within Beaminster and the surrounding villages. People in the area from old to young who usually rely on the support they receive from the charity in Beaminster town centre are in need of their services more than ever.

The Prout Bridge Project is a small charity that makes a big difference. It delivers services for people of all ages in rural West Dorset, operating from the small town of Beaminster.

The charity provides:

  • Youth work and activity clubs for children and young people from the ages of 8 – 18.
  • Mental health and wellbeing support for people of all ages including a counselling service that is free to use (age 16+).
  • Community outreach and affordable activities for people of all ages 0-100+.

The Prout Bridge Project also works closely with other services including the Food Bank, and the Police, and host sessions for specialist organisations like the Space Youth Project (a safe space for Dorset’s LGBQT+ young people) and Shores (support for victims of sexual abuse).

You can find out more about it by visiting: proutbridgeproject.com

Achieving its #PBPReachingOut campaign fundraising target will allow the Project to:

  • Offer fun, play and social reconnection for their young people, with youth clubs and summer activity days running through the summer and beyond, including dance, sports, arts, crafts, and games.
  • Be there for young people to turn to for support and information, including support with issues like bullying, anxiety and low confidence.
  • Fight loneliness and isolation by running community coffee mornings, food and a friendly ear.
  • Help people get back to health with sports and fitness activities for people of all ages.
  • Extend the reach of Beaminster Food Bank, by delivering essential supplies to households in need who can’t get to Beaminster for collection.
  • Offer advice services to help people build back after Covid, including a regular job club and Citizen’s Advice drop-ins.

This year has been tough for all of us, and the Prout Bridge Project knows through its work that people of all ages have struggled. Throughout the pandemic the charity has been busy helping people accessing its free counselling service and outreach youth workers but it has been unable to run its programme of youth clubs and community activities for people of all ages.

PBPReachingOut is its response to calls from across the area from people, who need support from Prout Bridge Project, many of whom are unable to travel or are isolating but need help more than ever. The outreach vehicle will allow the charity to offer services out and about in Beaminster (e.g. Memorial Playing Fields, skate park and the Square) and surrounding villages (e.g. Broadwindsor, Mosterton, Drimpton, Marshwood, Salway Ash).

The total programme costs it must raise for 2021 is £30k to purchase, kit out, run, and staff the vehicle. Thanks to a few generous supporters including Comic Relief and Dorset Council, one third of this target is already secured, but now it needs you to help them get the rest. Many organisations and individuals within the area are offering their support including Dorset Youth Association, the High Sheriff of Dorset, the Police and local Schools. Celebrities Martin and Phillipa Clunes are also wholeheartedly backing the campaign.

You can find the Crowdfunder page by visiting – crowdfunder.co.uk/pbpreachingout

People don’t have to exclusively donate through the Crowdfunder page as cheques can be made out to “Prout Bridge Project” or cash can be put in an envelope and put through the letterbox of Prout Bridge Project, 28 North Street, Beaminster, Dorset, DT8 3DY.

If you are unable to donate please still share this project with your friends and family – with the power of our community we can make this happen for this vital charity.