NEWS

MCCARTHY STONE VISIT

Oct 19, 2021

COATS would like to thank McCarthy Stone for their generous donation of £1000 towards our Centre Artwork project

Our Centre was extensively refurbished and updated during 2019 and reopened in November of that year. One of the final jobs following re-opening was to complete the interior design with pictures and artwork to adorn the walls of our entrance hall and two lounges. Barely had the planning on this started when covid struck and we were forced to close down our Centre. When we were able to re-open in May 2021 our thought turned again to the artwork project. With the generous support of McCarthy Stone we are now able to complete the interior design of our Centre. Our staff and Visitors have been planning what they would like to see on the walls including bright, floral artwork and heritage photographs of times gone by. We are very pleased that McCarthy Stone are supporting us in this initiative and look forward to showing off the end result very soon.”

https://www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/retirement-properties-for-sale/birch-place-crowthorne/

THE COATS CENTRE REOPENS

May 22, 2021

We were delighted to open our doors to our Visitors on Monday 17th May for the first time since spring 2020. In the week that followed almost 50 seniors came through the doors with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. Very quickly the smiles returned, and everyone was very pleased to once again be able to enjoy the good food, company and the attentive and caring staff and volunteers. There was so much catching up to do with some of them not having been out much at all in the last year.  Everything went very smoothly, we kept everyone safe and at the same time brought some fun and laughter back. A lot of weary bodies by the end of each day, both staff and Visitors but everyone was "happy tired" as they made their way home. More Visitors, fun and excitement in the coming weeks as we build back up to a full day from early June. Thanks are due to all staff and volunteers for making this possible.” The Centre and minibus operation have undergone a full risk assessment and appropriate infection control measures put in place including social distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene. Almost all visitors have had both doses of the covid vaccination, and the majority also choose to have covid tests before they attend. Social distancing mean that numbers are limited to a maximum of 15 on any one day and so, for the time being, the charity is only able to accommodate existing visitors. The Centre had been closed to Visitors since March last year due to covid-19 restrictions with the premises used to host a pop-up version of the COATS charity shop. The shop moved back to the Crowthorne High St, premises from 4th May and a team of staff and volunteers worked hard to prepare the Centre to be ready to welcome back the seniors of Crowthorne.