A NEW venture to support people on low incomes during the cost-of-living crisis opened in Church Road this week.
Building Bridges Community Centre opened its doors in the former County Court building on Tuesday.
The centre is the brainchild of Michelle Bridge and is a continuation of the Building Bridges Redditch CIC which was set up last year.
Michelle said: “I decided to bring Building Bridges to Church Road after witnessing first hand the need that is there over in Woodrow.”
The new centre will include a charity shop, community supermarket, community cafe and children’s holiday projects.
“We are here to provide help and support in the community with crisis bags and a low cost social supermarket to help the community stretch their tightened budgets,” said Shell.
“All money that comes into the hubs buys the next pallet.
“We have lots of new projects coming, including a community cafe and kids projects.”
The community hub is open from Tuesday to Friday between 9am and 3pm providing low cost food, toiletries and cleaning products.
Every penny spent goes back into the hub, creating crisis packs for those who cannot afford to buy food at all.
The mantra of the CIC is that it is the community working for the community.
The store is open to absolutely anybody with no judgement or checks.
Mayor of Redditch Coun Ann Isherwood, who attended the opening, said: “It’s great to be here with Shell opening her second shop in Redditch.
“It’s clear she has a vision for the people of Redditch and the amount of support she has given to the community is outstanding.
“It’s not just about food, it’s about creating a meeting place for people to be together, giving them opportunities to develop their skillsets.
“Shell has also generously offered to support me as a work experience coach to some of my students from the Heart of Worcestershire college.
“The Building Bridges Community Centre is a great community assist and I look forward to seeing it flourish.”
The centre is taking food donations of both long life and fresh products and is particularly keen for donations of sanitary products to go in their pink bin.
