Cheshire West Crowd helps Chester Deaf Centre get a new kitchen

The Chester and District Committee for Deaf People has successfully raised more than £30,000 through the Cheshire West Crowd to fit a new kitchen at Chester Deaf Centre.

The Cheshire West Crowd, run by Cheshire West and Chester Council in partnership with Spacehive, allows everyone to put forward community-led projects and attract funding to make the borough more vibrant, resilient and connected.

Chester Deaf Centre is such a valuable resource for the deaf community, providing a place where people can come together to socialise throughout the week.

After launching a crowdfunding campaign on the Cheshire West Crowd, the Chester and District Committee managed to attract 50 donations in total, including a significant contribution from the Council, to get the project over the line.

Not only will a new commercial kitchen make the centre an ideal place to hold a wider range of events, but the funding will help with several other smaller projects in the building.

Mike Ritchie, Chair of Chester and District Committee for Deaf People, said: “We had the pandemic when we had to close and people couldn’t access the centre.

“We had a lot of people out there who were isolated and I know a lot of hearing people were in a similar situation.

“As the deaf community is such a small bubble, somewhere like this, enabling people to come for any advice they need or just play bingo to socialise, is so important.

“We had plans to install a new kitchen and other projects as it’s really important to keep the centre fresh for those visiting us.”

Anne Hesketh, Trustee of Chester and District Committee for Deaf People, added: “I’d never done crowdfunding before and I didn’t really know what it was.

“With the kitchen costing more than £30,000, I wasn’t sure whether we’d be able to do it as most people would give £5, £10 or £20 at the most.

“If you don’t go for it, you don’t get it and I could see that the support was there from the Council and Spacehive teams.

“It worked out well and we definitely couldn’t have done it without the support we received.

“If others are thinking about crowdfunding, they shouldn’t be put off because the support is there.”

Steve, one of many people in the deaf community who visit the centre on a regular basis, commented: “I’ve been visiting since I was little all my life and I’ve grown up here.

“I come in weekly, depending on other things that are happening, as it’s nice to mix with other deaf people and I always feel welcome.

“A lot of new people are coming all the time, as well as the regulars, and it’s nice to catch up with friends.

“It’s lovely to see something new happening here and it’ll help bring more things to the centre.

“Other deaf centres have unfortunately closed, but everyone works hard to keep this up and running.

“It’s the best here and we have people travelling from other areas to come and see us.

“For the deaf community, places like this are really special.”

How you can get involved:

Since the Cheshire West Crowd first launched, 94 community projects have collectively raised nearly £1.6 million from almost 5,000 backers.

The fourth funding round has now been launched, providing another opportunity for community projects to run crowdfunding campaigns on the Cheshire West Crowd.

An online workshop is planned for 3pm to 4pm on Thursday 29 June so you can find out more about the Cheshire West Crowd.

Register for this workshop

Regular information sessions will also be held by the Council’s Communities team, providing an opportunity for you to have an informal chat about any ideas you have and get advice to take your crowdfunding campaign forward.

Find out more about these sessions

The deadline to submit projects on the Cheshire West Crowd and pitch to Council funds during this latest round is Wednesday 27 September 2023, with projects needing to hit their crowdfunding targets sometime during December 2023.

Create your own project

For more information about the Cheshire West Crowd and how you could get involved, visit: 

spacehive.com/movement/cwc

Pictured - Chester Deaf Centre welcomes visitors from nearby areas on a regular basis to take part in a range of activities.