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We are Bridge the Gap!

We are a community hub working to help ‘Bridge The Gap’ between the different members of our community.

We are Bridge the Gap! We are a community hub working to help ‘Bridge The Gap’ between the different members of our community.

Bridge The Gap started back in 2016 in response to the needs of the local people. We are based in the heart of the Southcourt estate - an area of high social and economic deprivation, where people often struggle to make ends meet. Our founders, Louise and Graham Clarke, who still run Bridge The Gap to this day, started BTG as a way to help those in our local community who are in need. They originally started it as a cafe style set up, then in 2017 we partnered with The Trussell Trust (now Aylesbury Foodbank) to help with providing food parcels. We also sought supermarket donations via FareShare. When Covid hit, we became a real lifeline for our community and we saw our numbers increasing rapidly. This pushed us to change our format to the set up we have today.

At Bridge The Gap we work to help people to help themselves. We are a safe space where people can build friendships and feel that they belong to a community. To us this is just as important as providing food and essentials.



Partners

We are in partnership with Aylesbury Foodbank to provide healthy, balanced food parcels. Some of the partner agencies that attend on a Wednesday are Helping Hands, One Recovery Bucks, Charities Together and Oasis Partnership.

We have been lucky enough to receive funding from the following organisations: The Rothschild Foundation, Buckinghamshire Council, Heart of Bucks,Fairhive Homes, Travis Perkins, Thomas Hickman, Buckinghamshire Freemasons, the Helping Hand Team, The Clare Foundation, Garfield Weston, The Souter Trust and other anonymous funders.

Some of our ongoing projects include:

Weekly Foodbank

At our weekly foodbank, we offer food parcels, toiletries, clothing, pet food and other essentials our guests may need - as well as a few extra luxuries at Christmas and Easter eggs at Easter. Our foodbank services are in operation each Friday and are run by a combination of staff and volunteers. We serve local people from all over Southcourt and the feedback we receive from the local community is wonderful. We are a lifeline for many local people and we are so proud of the work that we do.

Wednesday Drop-In

In January 2024, we started a new weekly event, which is a drop-in style session where people can come to not only book a slot for the Friday foodbank, but to have a cuppa, catch-up, and generally just build community. We have many volunteers in attendance who are available to help people with any administrative tasks they may be struggling with, such as CV writing, job applications or completing a benefit application form. In addition, we have representatives from local partner agencies in attendance, who we can signpost people to, as well as offering free money management advice from our volunteer finance expert. This Wednesday session has been very well received by our guests, so will be something we continue to do moving forward.

Bridge The Gap Extra

We run a termly, ‘Bridge The Gap Extra’, event where we serve a hot meal to anyone that wants one. These events really help to bring the community together - as well as offering a safe space and a hot meal to people who might really need one. Guests and volunteers really enjoy this event as it is a really good opportunity to catch-up and share a meal with friends.

Youth Hub

Youth Hub provides a safe, accessible, and welcoming place to young people in Aylesbury. Volunteers connect with young people over Fifa, table football, screen games and a whole variety of often crazy, group activities.

Shift. (life coaching)

Bridge The Gap is partnering with ROC UK to pilot a brand new, highly accessible community resource called 'Shift.', which is life coaching, laser-focused on empowering those who may be experiencing challenges because of adverse economic circumstances, lack of connections and limited opportunities. Shift. uses a selection of visual tools to help identify a key area where people feel ‘stuck’. Our 'Shift. coaches' then facilitate the discovery of the First Next Step (FNS) forward in one chosen area of challenge. Our pilot is offering this life coaching resource to our foodbank guests free of charge.

Knife Amnesty Bin

Working in partnership with Thames Valley Police, and local charity group In This Together, we have set up a knife amnesty bin on the side of our building. This is a permanent collection point for knives and other bladed weapons. The aim of this is to provide a safe, anonymous place where people can dispose of weapons, helping to get weapons off the streets and make the area safer.

Critical Bleed Kit

In association with In This Together, Fairhive Homes Ltd, Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire Council and Carewell Health Recruitment Services, we have worked together to install a critical bleed kit here on site. The kit is designed to be used in a situation where someone is suffering from a stab wound - to help stem the bleeding until the emergency services arrive.

Community Defibrillator

We have a defibrillator in place next to our critical bleed kit. This piece of equipment could be life saving to anyone who has gone into cardiac arrest. We feel that it is essential that this defibrillator is here and available to be used by anyone in the local area.

Nitrous Oxide (NOS) Canister Bin

Similarly to the knife amnesty bin, we now have a NOS canister bin on site, with the aim being to get these harmful canisters off the streets without people fearing incrimination. This is something we have set up in partnership with Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire Council and In This Together. This is one of the many ways that we work to make our community safer.

English Conversation Group

In a safe and comfortable environment, these informal sessions provide an opportunity for those whose second language is English, to practice and improve their spoken English whilst making new friends. Sessions are free of charge, Mondays, (term-time only), 9.30 to 11am.

BTG News!

Christmas 2024.

We had a busy Christmas this year. Here’s a quote from Bridge The Gap leader Lou:

 

In the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas:

  • 450 people were fed.
  • 145 Christmas parcels were given.
  • 130 children received toys. (At the toy fair we gave out 3 to 4 toys per child.)
  • 138 people attended & were fed at BTG Extra.

We were blessed to have 30 volunteers who helped on the day totalling 168 people.



Contact !

To get involved or find out more please contact us at bridgethegap@southcourt.org or give us a call:

Louise - 07349963509

Graham - 07349963510

To find out more about how you can support us, please contact Hannah at hannah@southcourt.org or 07768967334

To book a food parcel please call 07768566089 - if there is no answer, please leave a voicemail and we will call you back

 

 

Find us on social media

Facebook    

 

Donate

Whether giving a one off gift or setting up a monthly standing order use the following details:

Southcourt Baptist Church Trust:

Metro Bank / Sort Code: 23-05-80 / Account number: 55673217

This is a separate bank which ONLY holds monies for our Bridge the Gap operation. The money will NOT be used for general church purposes.

 

Gift Aid means that Bridge the Gap can get an extra 25p for every £1 donated. Gift Aid is a scheme which allows charities to claim from HMRC the basic rate of tax their donors have paid. Gift Aid increases the value of donations by 25%, so it means even more money goes to the causes you care about – and it won’t cost you extra. If you would like to register your donations to Bridge the Gap to count for Gift Aid, please email bridgethegap@southcourt.org to ask for a relevant form.

He has come so that we may have life and have it to the full!