Launchpad’s Speke House in Liverpool has benefitted from a donation of £8,000 from the B&Q Foundation.
The funding will be used to provide an outdoor multi-gym in the communal area for residents to use and the installation of an outdoor canopy at the entrance of the building to provide shelter for residents and visitors.
The improvements will benefit all 50 residents who live at the house, which provides accommodation and targeted support to UK Armed Forces’ veterans experiencing homelessness and unemployment.
The B&Q Foundation supports registered charities with a combination of grants, volunteering time and home improvement resources. It concentrates its efforts on local charities helping to create better, safer places for people who need them most.
The house benefits from an extensive outdoor communal space and once installed, residents will be able to enjoy free, unlimited access to gym equipment, which will also encourage them to socialise and engage in physical activity.
Staff at the house will also invite external fitness agencies to plan programmes for the residents to boost their mental health and wellbeing.
Due to the high volume of people visiting the house daily, a canopy at the entrance of the building will not only give the entrance better kerb appeal, but it will also benefit residents and visitors and provide shelter from bad weather.
Rob Lockyer, Facilities Manager at Speke House, said: “We are very grateful to the B&Q Foundation for providing this donation, which will considerably improve the house and benefit all residents and their visitors.
“Some of our residents can’t afford a gym membership and some are too self-conscious to go to a gym, so this will remove those barriers and it is also a positive step to boosting their motivation, fitness and improving their mental health. Having an outside gym will also let people use it without disturbing other residents.”
The new canopy and outdoor multi gym will be installed at the house in the coming months.
This is the second donation that Speke House has received from the B&Q Foundation. The charity donated £5,000 in 2020 to contribute towards extending the communal kitchen facilities at the house.
Speke House comprises 50 self-contained, one-bedroom flats for former serving personnel and their partners. Launchpad has three houses in the North of England in Liverpool, Newcastle and Durham providing accommodation for 101 homeless veterans – accepting veterans from all over the UK.
For more information about Launchpad, please visit www.veteranslaunchpad.org.uk