We have a project ongoing to renovate the Choir Vestry, partly to refurbish it’s very tatty state and also to make it a welcoming and suitable space for children to use as well.
£5,000 worth of funding has been provided by the Friends of St Eustachius and the Vestry Group of children have raised £684. We made an application to the Diocese for funding from their Mission Growth Fund for £7,000, and we heard on 23rd August that they have awarded us £2,000, due to the high level of applications they received. However, a generous donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has stepped in to make up the rest of the requested Diocese grant by giving us £5,000. And on top of that, another generous anonymous donor has stepped in to add the final amount to reach the estimate of £14,000 to complete the project. In fact, because our two donors gift aided their donation, we have some extra funding, which will cope with any unforeseen risks that emerge in the work, and then any remaining funding will be rolled over into renovating the Sacristy.
The building work of the ceiling repairs and moving the toilet door (to make a bigger toilet space) happened in the week 16-20 October and the new LED lights were installed. Repainting of the ceiling and the carpet laying took place in the week beginning 30th Oct. The new music shelving and wardrobes for the choir robes were delivered and installed in the week beginning 6th November. Remaining work after this will include installing storage facilities for the children’s resources and refurbishing the toilet space.
The music storage shelves that were moved into the church in preparation for the work are all gradually now being removed. If anyone would like to have any of the shelves, they are available to take away for a donation to the church.
We would like to state our thanks to the following for their funding:
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- The Friends of St Eustachius
- The Diocese of Exeter
- The Vestry Group Children Fundraisers
- Both of our two anonymous donors