Longmore House Refurbishment

Birmingham Rathbone is seeking £465,260 to fund the renovation of Longmore House, a learning centre for young people with learning difficulties in Birmingham.

The conversion of this space will enable Birmingham Rathbone to extend our learning programmes and to increase the number of learners that we can accommodate at any one time to 265 (which would mean that approximately 630 individuals could access provision at Longmore House annually), while creating a better and more spacious learning environment.

Target Supported Employment

Birmingham Rathbone wishes to develop the post-employment support programme that is delivered by Target Supported Employment, to support adults with learning difficulties, as they enter the labour market. Considerable lessons have been learned from successfully offering this provision previously and a number of improvements will be utilised to improve effectiveness and efficiency further, such as offering more substantial in-depth support to clients.

It is expected that the improved service will support between 20 and 25 clients, in a number of areas, including: kitchen porter, cleaner, kitchen assistant, classroom assistant, housekeeper and care assistant. This provision will cost approximately £75,000 annually and is not elligible for statutory support.

There are a number of ways you can help us provide services for people with learning difficulties

Volunteering

Volunteering can be a lot of fun and is extremely rewarding. It is also a great way to learn new skills, gain work experience and meet new people.

Birmingham Rathbone has volunteering opportunities at all levels of the organisation, from helping out with service user consultation projects and the development of IT suites for service users, to taking service users swimming or helping with fundraising events.

Please contact us if you are interested in undertaking voluntary work with people with learning difficulties.

Becoming a corporate supporter

The benefits to your organisation of becoming a corporate supporter of Birmingham Rathbone's work with people with learning difficulties are wide-ranging.

• Your company will be able to create a strong link with the local community in Birmingham
• Your employees will be encouraged to feel positively about their employer and place of work
• There will be local and regional PR opportunities, such as project celebration events with local dignitaries and published case studies in magazines and journals
• Your company will be seen to be making a serious commitment to community investment
• There will be opportunities for your employees to become involved in Birmingham Rathbone's work on a voluntary basis.