Website /
Spokesperson and contact / David Stockport MBE, Charity Administrator:
Status / Charity
What problem are they trying to tackle? / Unemployment: Chopsticks provides supported work for growing numbers of adults with disabilities fromHambleton, Richmond and surrounding areas.
What services or interventions do they run? /
- Chopsticks has a contract with North Yorkshire County Council Social Services to provide 15 day care places for adults with a learning disability and/or physical disability. They are trained in their workshop to recycle scrap timber by producing kindling wood.
- They Assist members, where appropriate, to move on into paid or supported employment through provision of work experience.
- They provide meaningful work placements to long term unemployed people within the New Deal 18-24 and 25+ client groups
- They provide services to older people and disabled people to assist them to retain independence and to remain in their own home
- They provide a garden service for elderly and disabled people
Who are their beneficiaries? /
- Adults with a learning disability and/or physical disability
- Unemployed people
Area of service / Northallerton, North Yorkshire
Investment Overview
Amount / Adventure Capital Fund (AFC):
£237,180 (£40,500 grant and £196,680 loan).
April 2006: £201,500 (£40,500 grant and £161,000 loan)
Aug 2006: increased loan by £35,680
Date paid back / Active investment, nearly completelyrepaid
Purpose / They needed capital funding for the construction of new Workshops and a purpose built Resource Centre. These were needed to expand, modernise, and ensure the sustainability of Chopsticks’ valued occupation service. The rented workshop they had previously been in had limited capacity to develop their service and a Health and Safety report at the time stated it was becoming unfit for use unless they completed some major refurbishments. The initial investment in April 2006 went towards the capital costs of building and equipping the new resource centre building and the increased loan (an additional £35,690) in August of the same year went towards the building of the mezzanine floor.
Outcomes / By building the new premises on Northallerton Business Park their floor area would increase from 198 sqm to 808sqm which would allow for a variety of other benefits:
- More people would be able to access work based activities and vocational training to improve employability
- A greater number of members with varied disabilities wouldhave access to Chopsticks.
- New, varied work activities would mean members could develop more skills
- An increase in the number of clients benefiting from the garden care scheme
- An increase in kindling wood production to increase income from sales to ensure sustainability
- Storage room for the finished product to reduce costs of renting storage facilities
- New premises would also enable them to provide: high quality disabled facilities and access; kitchen and rest room facilities for meal and break times; a meeting room for Management Committee meetings, members’ advocacy meetings, staff meetings, training and for use by other groups
- The development would assist North Yorkshire Council’s strategy to deliver the Valuing People White Paper. It would also enable them to better negotiate with the local authorities in North Yorkshire and elsewhere including Social Services and LSC
Themes
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☐Becoming investment ready
☐Taking on a community building
☒Running a local service
☒Taking on debt finance for the first time
☐Helped by our investee support services
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Impact Story
Chopsticks: Before the ACF Investment
Prior to investment from ACF, Chopsticks was housed in rented accommodation in a concrete type workshop next to a watercourse with a population of rats that often entered the building.
This building was totally unfit for purpose, especially because disabled access andfacilities were non-existent. The small size of the building restricted the attendance of the service users to no more than thirteen at any one time and as a result, they were forced to negotiate contracts for day-care with the local council.
In this space they were unable to expand into new activities and were only able to produce bags of kindling.
How the investment from ACF changed this:
The investment from ACF allowed the organisation to purchase land and to design a purpose built workshop to be used by their members. The new workshop allowed them to expand not only their member numbers but also the range of activities. They were able to re-negotiate contracts with the local authority with no upper limits and to introduce individual budgets for their members.
As a result of the investment, they were to produce biomass woodchip fuels as well as the original kindling. They also produce plinths and other appliances on behalf of two local authorities and housing associations aimed at assisting disabled people to remain independent. The planned gardening scheme is up and running, helping older people stay independent. Some of their disabled users recently started acommunity support service for clients. In addition, they are maintaining a healthy income fromthe rental of two meeting roomslocated in the new workshop.
David Stockport MBE, Charity Administrator, spoke about the effects of the ACF investment:
What was the support like that you received from ACF following the investment?
“I cannot speak too highly of the support we received from ACF and its staff and supporters throughout the process. Whilst ACF were rightly concerned to ensure that their money was well and safely invested, the fact that their main priority concentrated on social outcomes was at times a Godsend.”
David went on to say that “it really feels the ACF staff want to help and want to ensure the success of the project they are funding.”
Was there anything specific to the structure of the investment that made ACF attractive?
“If there is one factor in the overall structure of the investment made by ACF that I really value I would have to say it was the ongoing support that came as part of the package. This took the form of regular contact and visits from an ACF staff member. This system works really well as it gives an opportunity to talk through how the project is going and to share some of the challenges as well as the successes.”
We are now at a point where the loan element of our investment is virtually paid off but I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Social Investment Business/Adventure Capital Fund and in particular their staff for all the assistance we received. We would not be where we are now without it.”