Pippins Community Centre to remain open during lockdown

The Pippins Community Centre in Axminster - in its last few days of a £7,000 fundraising appeal - will remain open throughout the second national lockdown to continue hosting a variety of support groups and essential services.

The centre has just four days left to raise its target of £7,000 via its first Crowdfunding campaign.

The community centre, which occupies a historic building on the corner of Stoney Lane, is raising much-needed funds to weather-proof the building, with a full-repaint of the building planned along with essential maintenance.

The fundraising campaign comes to a close at 9am on Monday, November 9th, marking the end of a six-week fundraising period.

The total currently stands at just under £4,000, which includes hugely-appreciated donations from members of the public and Axminster community, as well as a £1,000 match-funding pledge from Dorset County Council's Community Chest fund.

However, the project's total target amount of £7,000 must be achieved in order for the council's match-funding pledge to materialise into a grant.

You can support the campaign at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/pippins-community-centre-needs-weather-proofing

A list of groups and services that will be available at Pippins through lockdown can be found on the Pippins website with sessions that are currently running shown in green.

These include Songbirds parent and toddler/baby groups on Mondays and the Axminster Hub drug and alcohol recovery services on Tuesdays.

Some groups and services are not currently operating face to face at Pippins. However, nearly all of these can still be accessed via telephone, online, or on Zoom with contact details also available on the website.

These include Citizens Advice East Devon, Headlight - Mental Health Support for Young People, English language lessons and Axminster Baby Cafe with support instead available via the Facebook group.

A spokesperson for Pippins said: "Rest assured that our venue and all of our sessions are thoroughly risk assessed, with COVID-secure guidelines being strictly followed."