Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) and Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) have teamed up to reward a community centre with a well-earned face lift, in a bid to thank the community for all their hard work.
The Scotswood Housing Estate Forum (SHEF) on Woodstock Road will now benefit from a new kitchen facility and bathroom suite as part of the refurbishment works.
FHM fitted the kitchen with new units, worktops, a sink, a new bathroom and provided the labour in recognition of the tireless work carried out by volunteers who run the community centre.
Dedicated Gwen Hind, 61, Nellie Ternent, 69, Audrey Bushell, 68 and Audrey Kennedy, 73, form part of the centre's management committee and recently scooped a Queen's Award for Voluntary Service for their outstanding contribution to the community.
The community centre is used as a drop in centre to provide a range of services including advice on welfare and benefits, a freephone to the jobcentre and a support group for the families of drug addicts.
The women were invited down to Buckingham Palace last month to collect their gong and celebrate their remarkable achievements. In honour of the Royal occasion, FHM funded the group's £200 travel costs.
The management committee at SHEF celebrated their kitchen revamp by laying on a special buffet at the community centre for FHM staff.
The completion of the refurbishment works reflects the close working relationship FHM has enjoyed with Your Homes Newcastle since October 2007 - fitting an average of 75 kitchens and bathrooms to tenants' homes every week.
The work on Scotswood housing estate is part of a £78 million investment programme aimed at bringing homes up to the Government's Decent Homes standard.
Jackie Carey, FHM's Lead Resident Liaison Officer, said: "We were really pleased to be able to modernise the community centre and provide these internal improvement works.
"We wanted to help the community centre because they do such fantastic work and their recent recognition at Buckingham Palace is testament to that. The community centre is self-funding so we decided to provide their travel costs and it was really nice of them to put on a buffet for us in return."
Audrey Kennedy, Treasurer of the Management Committee at SHEF, said: "We are really pleased with our modern new kitchen and bathroom and I'm sure the internal works will make a big difference to all of our service users. There are 2,500 people who use our centre and so we're grateful for any help of this kind that comes our way.
"We're very grateful to FHM for providing us with some money towards our travel expenses. I think the help that FHM has given the Community Centre reflects the good work they're currently carrying out as part of a wider refurbishment project in the community."
