Lord Wallace of Tankerness Visits The Gate

Volunteering Recruitment Event

Pop along to The Gate Centre for a coffee and a chat this Friday (14/05/2021) from 4pm to 6pm to attend the above event!

Learn about potential opportunities for you and the benefits of volunteering with our charity.

We look forward to seeing you then!!

Thank You Clacks Community for Supporting Our School Uniform Bank

Due to the kindness of the Clacks community we were able to provide 568 children with essential school clothing and equipment in July 2020. We were overwhelmed by the support on offer and we would like to say a huge thank you to the parents who donated lots of clothing and equipment on the lead up to the Open Week of our School Uniform Bank.

Also huge thanks to Clacks council for providing the premises, and vans and drivers to transport the stock from Ludgate Church who kindly allowed us to use their premises during the sorting period. We also need to thank Ochilview Housing Association, CTSI, Clackmannanshire Council, and Ludgate Church who provided us with staff to operate the project, we could not have operated the project without their valued help and hard work. Also MSP Keith Brown and Cllr Ellen Forson who lent a hand during the sorting period and open week. Also everyone’s kind donations from Ochil View, Barnardo’s, Menstrie’s Jett Filling Station, Alloa’s Resilience Learning Partnership and many more kind organisations who donated items to help this project throughout the summer of 2020. Parents and children were absolutely delighted to receive the essential clothing and equipment and goodie bags as they exited the hall.

Last but by no means least, we would like to thank Rob McLean, Manager of Tesco’s superstore who kindly, once again, supported this project by donating hundreds of carrier bags and by allowing The Gate to have a donation station for 2 weeks within the store to encourage donations.

Keep Smiling!

A cheerful photograph of some of our volunteers who are working hard to help the Clacks’s Community.

Staff and Volunteers Enjoy A Recent Training Exercise

Our staff and volunteers thoroughly enjoyed learning how to use our fire extinguishers in the event of an emergency yesterday at The Gate Centre. They all had a turn at using one of the fire extinguishers and Martin Williams from Secure Fire Protection Ltd also provided our team with some valuable advice on fire management and fire safety. Hopefully we will never need to use the training in real life but at least we are all prepared now in case of an emergency!

Welcoming Royalty and VIPs to The Gate Centre

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent alongside his Private Secretary Nick Turnball, the Lord-Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire Johnny Stewart, Vice Lord-Lieutenant John Spruce and Clerk to the Lord-Lieutenant Craig Dunbar to meet our volunteers. The CEO of Clacks Council Nikki Bridle and Provost Tina Murphy also came along on the day to chat with our volunteers and to learn more about our projects and future plans.

The visit was arranged by Mr Johnny Stewart who said “His Royal Highness, the Duke of Kent was delighted to visit The Gate on Wednesday 30th October 2019. He enjoyed his short visit and was fascinated by what he heard and saw. His Royal Highness was particularly pleased to meet so many volunteers and to hear what they do for so many people requiring help in Alloa”. Mr Johnny Stewart has always supported our organisation and further stated that “The Gate is very special place and he would always look for ways to support us”.

School Uniform Bank News 2019

We provided 355 children with school uniforms and equipment this year thanks to donations from our generous community and the help from many organisations, including our wonderful Gate volunteers.

We received 75 referrals and 194 children visited our “Open Week” to access support, supporting 21 schools and nurseries within Clackmannanshire.

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who supported this project, including staff from CTSI, Yorkshire Building Society, Ochilview Housing Association and the local SNP office for all their support during the sorting period and our Open Week.

Also, thanks to Paula Paton, Asda’s Community Champion for her continued assistance and Tesco’s customers and local organisations for donating a huge amount of old and new clothing and equipment for this project. Thank You So Much for the Support!

KNIT N NATTER GROUP CLOSED TEMPORARILY

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our Knit N Natter group which usually operates on a Wednesday afternoon is closed temporarily. As soon as we have a date to reopen this group activity we will let everyone know.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

The Generosity of our County Residents “knows no bounds”.

We would like to say a huge “thank you” to the people of Clacks following an incredible outpouring of generosity from locals over the festive season.

Our charity, which provides a range of services including a foodbank, soup pot and community cafe, received over eight tonnes of donations in just two months. With demand massively increasing over Christmas, everything that was contributed went to good use and helped make the festive season that bit easier for those who were struggling.

Marie Brownhill, The Gate’s centre manager, said “Between November and March, every single year, without fail, all of our services are really busy. “Whilst it’s a joyful time for most, it can be the most difficult time for many.
“So what I want to get across on behalf of The Gate is to thank the public and small and large businesses because they all played a part in making Christmas more special for the most vulnerable in the community.”
Marie made clear there were so many people she could thanks that it was impossible to name everyone, but mentioned a few examples of locals helping out. She added: “One community group held the Christmas fayre at the town hall and donated £411 to us from that and it was great – it was run by Hellen Woods. “And one woman came in with her two wee boys who, with their pocket money, bought selection boxes, and they’d bought wee cars too. “That’s not a huge donation but for small children to do that is great. “All of these little things and everybody doing their little bit made a huge difference to The Gate and what we were able to deliver.”

To spread a little festive cheer, food parcels were significantly increased and included festive treats like chocolates and sweets too. Marie said that she could not thank The Gate’s dedicated team of volunteers enough either, given their hard work over the festive period.

Adrienne Hilton, the foodbank’s coordinator, also made clear just how big the operation was to deliver The Gate’s services over Christmas. She continued: “December and January are our busiest months. “We probably get about a good quarter to a third of our annual donations in a six week period between the beginning of December and the middle of January. “We started off with three tonnes of food in November, and in December it went mad. We probably got about five tonnes of food in one month, so in two months we had eight tonnes.” Staggered by the sheer scale of support shown by Clacks residents, she added: “We are an area that is very deprived and has got high levels of poverty, but we are a community that looks after itself, and the generosity shows no bounds.”

IGNITE Social Group for Young People between 11 – 17 years of age!

A Social Group operated by members of Ludgate Church.

Where: The Gate Centre, 2 Ludgate ALLOA.

When: Starts Friday 12th October 2018
(afterwards the group will operate every 2nd Friday of every month)

Time: 7.30pm – 9pm

The purpose is to provide a free space for youngsters to come along to take part in games, have a snack and participate in some craft work in a supportive and welcoming environment. No Referral Necessary!

Volunteers are also happy to chat & listen to the young people if they feel the need someone to talk too!

For further information, call DANA on 07578055294