Emmaus Mossley has had its first advertisement on the radio waves!
The 40 second ad was made for us by Tameside Radio and has been getting broadcast several times a day.
You can hear the radio ad for yourself by clicking here!
Bruce, a companion at Emmaus Mossley, has been announced as the winner of the Charlie Jordan Solidarity Travel Award for 2010.
This is an annual award is made by Emmaus Brighton and Hove in honour of the late Charlie Jordan, who was a co-founder and trustee of the Brighton and Hove community and a promoter of Emmaus in the UK and beyond.
Bruce will be awarded up to £600 to enable him to visit Emmaus Communities which are known to have a strong commitment to the Abbe Pierre's way of thinking. This is consistent with Charlie Jordan's wish to bring the influence of the Emmaus movement from its home in France to the UK.
The concept of Solidarity is central to the ethos of Emmaus Communities. Rather than be a drain on society, residents of Emmaus Communities not only work to support themselves, but they also work to help others.
Solidarity takes many forms within Emmaus Communities; sometimes surplus income generated from the business of the Community goes towards starting new Emmaus Communities, sometimes it is donated to other local charities or to disaster appeals.
Bruce was nominated for his involvement in Emmaus Mossley's Solidarity projects, including helping the embryonic Emmaus Salford with van driving and other work.
Bruce, Dennis and Hazel headed off to Emmaus's Paris Salon in June, with a van full of special things for sale, to raise money for Emmaus International's solidarity causes, and meet others from Emmaus communities across Europe! [See here for more info on the Paris Salon.]
The stall in Paris that was shared by Emmaus Mossley and Emmaus Cambridge raised 4,000 euros for Emmaus International's solidarity good causes! (11,000 euros were raised by the various UK communities present!) Well done to all involved!
The Emmaus Paris Salon was featured on a French television news item! (Sorry - no English subtitles!) Click here to watch.
Emmaus Mossley now has a Facebook page.
If you are on Facebook, why not beome a "fan"? Keep an eye on the page for news and photos. Add a comment.
Click the link to visit our Facebook page.
Terry Waite came to Mossley today to present certificates to companions at Emmaus Mossley in recognition of qualifications achieved.
A number of companions have attained Level 1 or 2 NVQs in skills such as Catering, Warehousing & Storage, Carrying & Delivering Goods, Customer Services and Cleaning & Servicing.
In addition, a number of companions have achieved City and Guilds certificates in Numeracy and Literacy as part of the Skills for Life programme.
The courses were delivered by staff of Tameside College under "Train to Gain" funding. Deputy Principal Jenny Worsdale expressed her delight at the success of the partnership with Emmaus Mossley. She attended the award ceremony along with members of the College staff who had been involved in the training.
The courses were arranged by Community Leader Dave Rigby as part of Emmaus Mossley's continuing programme of personal development for the companions.
Terry Waite is the national President of the Emmaus movement.
Terry Waite with companions and Tameside College staff at Emmaus Mossley
Terry Waite will be visiting Emmaus Mossley on Tuesday May 11th.
Terry, who is Emmaus's national President, will be visiting to present certficates to Companions who have completed NVQ courses.
If you are in the area around mid-day, why not call in and meet Terry yourself?
Anyone waiting for one of our vans to call to collect or deliver something in early January would not have been surprised to hear that they were snow-bound in our yard.
It was not possible for vehicles to get up or down the steep Queen Street on 5th January because of deep snow. For the next few days, even once the vans were liberated, they were not be able to reach many addresses on estates or back streets.
We had to contact customers who had arranged a collection or delivery and arrange new dates as soon as we were able. We are glad that our customers were very understanding during this frustrating period.
Even when the car park was not accessible to vehicles, the shop remained open as normal if you were able to reach us on foot. We are only a short distance from Mossley Station and most trains were running.
As mentioned in the item above, snow has made Emmaus Mossley's car park inaccessible to vehicles.
However, the shop is open as normal and a number of intrepid customers, some taking advantage of an unexpected day off work, found their way to the shop on foot.
Some customers even came in and bought skis that were on sale in our bric-a-brac shop! They were then able to try them out on the street outside.
The young lady in the photo is skiing down Queen Street past the entrance to Emmaus Mossley. Why travel to the Alps when Mossley has its own piste?
Come and join in the fun at Emmaus Mossley's Summer Fair on Saturday 1st August
The fair will be on from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm.
The entertainment and amusements will include: Live Music, Bouncy Castle, Games, Refreshments, Raffle, Tombola, Lucky Dip, Face Painting and more.
Plus you can shop for a bargain in our Secondhand Superstore while you are here!
"Off Road", a book of poems written by Colin and Eddy, two of the Companions at Emmaus Mossley, is now available.
Click here to read extracts from the book.
The book can be purchased at our shop here at Emmaus Mossley for £4.00. (Or send cheque for £4.50 to have the book posted to you.)
Companions at Emmaus Mossley dressed in funny outfits in order to raise a laugh - a raise money - for Comic Relief.
However, shop manager Hazel Hodkinson thinks that Red Nose Day must have taken place on the quietest day of the year for the shop!
"I don't know if the date had anything to do with it but certainly people didn't seem to be venturing out of doors," said Hazel.
"As it was we were busy continuing with the refurb of the main bric a brac room, only we carried out our chores dressed as Spiderman, an ageing punk and a match; with Dave painting on the scaffolding as a Channel swimmer! Three of the guys had their flowing locks cut or shaved completely by Jodie, our resident barber. We think they look great and we are thinking of doing a 10-years-younger makeover next year, including Botox and cosmetic dentistry!"
"At the end of the day a total of £230.39 was raised for Comic Relief, so a big thank you to the lads for being such good sports!"
Emmaus Mossley was the beneficiary of £285 from a collection taken at a 9 Lessons and Carols service at St. Anne's Church, Lydgate, Oldham on 21st December. A combined choir of some thirty men, women and children from St Anne's and its neighbouring church sang for Emmaus.
The service was attended by Bruce, Les, Dennis and Dave on behalf of the Emmaus Mossley community. Dave expressed the community's thanks for the generosity of those present.
These churches have a special place in the history of Mossley. It was at St Anne's in 1995 that Richard Darlington and some enthusiastic church members decided to take up the challenge to get an Emmaus Community up and running in Mossley.
Richard (pictured left) helped to establish the first Emmaus community in Britain and was one of the original trustees of Emmaus Mossley.
A number of the original group from St Anne's church still volunteer at Emmaus Mossley on a regular basis.
Click on these links to listen online to the WFM radio interviews:
Emmaus Mossley held its Open Day this year on 9th December. Terry Waite spent the day with us, chatting with members of the public as well as staff and companions and the local art group that meets in the building.
Throughout the day, local musicians performed for shoppers and visitors. Companions Colin and Dennis gave tours of the building behind the scenes, including the workshop, dining room and the rare sight of a companion's room.
A local art group, who meet each week in the building, had an extra art session so that visitors could see for themselves the sort of activities that were enjoyed.
Terry, who is the president of Emmaus UK, presented certificates to companions who had completed First Aid training.
As well as signing autographs for shoppers, Terry Waite also gave press and radio interviews.
The interview with presenter Mike Dawson was broadcast on WFM 97.2 on 14th December. It is available to listen to online, along with an interview with Emmaus companion Les. Please follow the links on the left to hear the interviews.
Photos, left: Terry with IKEA's environmental managers.
Terry tries his hand at an art class.
Terry gives an interview.
Photos, right: Terry talks to visitors and the local art group.
Terry talks with shoppers and signs autographs.
Local musicians entertain visitors.
A survey has shown that Emmaus communities can save the taxpayer large sums of money! A typical Emmaus community could save around £800,000 of public funds. Not only that, but they offer huge benefits to the people living in each community and to those living in the area around.
The survey, carried out by Cambridge Univerity, studied the Emmaus community at Carlton in Bedfordshire.
One of the biggest savings is on the cost of housing companions by other means, such as hostels, shelters, supported housing, etc. if they had not been in an Emmaus community. The costs of job seekers' allowances and other state benefits is also saved.
The local community has the resource of an amazing range of secondhand goods available plus the opportunity to recycle unwanted items by donating them and saving the cost of landfill!
Watch BBC news item about this. [2 minutes long]
Read summary of the survey's findings. [.pdf file] Read full report. [Word doc]
Come and visit Emmaus Mossley on Tuesday 9th December and find out more of what goes on and what it is all about! Our special Open Day will be between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm and there will be the chance to meet our guest of honour Terry Waite, the President of Emmaus UK.
There will be tours of the community and opportunities to talk with companions about life in an Emmaus community. During the day there will be demonstrations in the woodworking shop and music by local artists.
You can also meet some of Emmaus's volunteers and trustees, and hear about future plans for the community and .
There will also be taster sessions available with the regular art group and a talk in the Heritage Centre by Richard Darlington.
Harry Barlow has been appointed as Workshop and Maintenance Manager at Emmaus Mossley.
Harry's role will be to increase the involvement of companions in maintaining the building so that, under his guidance, they can gain experience in activities such as decorating.
He will also help to extend the skills of companions through greater use of the workshop area and through links with local colleges.
Glamorous actress Jerry Hall has raised £28,000 for Emmaus communities by auctioning a collection of her dresses.
The auction, which included the dress she wore to marry Mick Jagger, took place at Sothebys in London.
Jerry wanted to contribute towards giving people a second chance. She said, "I am so pleased to think that my dresses can lead a new lease of life in someone else's wardrobe, and at the same time contribute towards creating future Emmaus communities."
Hazel Hodkinson has been appointed as Shop Manager at Emmaus Mossley.
Hazel plans to improve the customer experience, drawing on the experience of Emmaus companions and building on our current successes.
Terry Waite visited Emmaus Mossley in December to see how the Community is helping to keep others warm as part of its "solidarity" principle.
£500 worth of new hats, gloves and socks have been purchased with funds raised for the "solidarity" programme. These will be donated to Wellsprings in Stockport and Cornerstones in Manchester - two drop-in centres that will distribute the clothing to homeless people in Greater Manchester.
Photo, left: Terry Waite and Dave Rigby model the new clothing.,
Photo, right: Terry took the opportunity to meet volunteers who staff our "Collectables" room.
Terry Waite, the President of Emmaus UK, visited Emmaus Mossley on October 12th.
He presented certificates to companions who had completed a specially-tailored training course.
The course was run in partnership with Tameside College and covered motivation and confidence as well as retail and customer service skills.
The photo shows Terry (back row) with John Carroll, Principal, Tameside College, and Diane Maxine and Rory from Tameside College, along with companions and staff of Emmaus Mossley.
Click this link for more photos.
A new sales room has been created at Emmaus Mossley where collectable items are available.
These are items that are a little bit too special to be sold in the Bric-a-brac shop, and are set aside for the discerning customer to browse through.
The new Collectables Room is situated behind the café on the upper sales floor.
Staffed by volunteers, it is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, from 10.00 am until 12.30 pm and from 1.00 until 3.00 pm.
Terry Waite is to visit to Emmaus Mossley on October 12th.
Terry, president of Emmaus UK, will present certificates to companions who have completed a training course.
The course was run in partnership with Tameside College and covered motivation and confidence as well as retail and customer service skills.
Customers are welcome to come and meet Terry when he is here.
A Fabulous Fun Day will take place at Emmaus Mossley on Saturday 8th September, 2007.
The event will run from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm and will feature live music, face painting, children's entertainment, tombola, raffle, luck dip, refreshments and more!
The day will co-incide with Emmaus Day being celebrated at communities around the country. It also co-incides with Heritage Open Day, and the Mossley Industrial Heritage Centre will be open all afternoon.
A grant from the Department of Communities and Local Government along with grants from the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation and the Dulverton Trust have allowed four new bedrooms to be completed at Emmaus Mossley.
The new bedrooms, each complete with en-suite bathroom with toilet, shower and washbasin, were created from two common rooms that were under-used.
The new rooms, with views across the valley, will enable Emmaus Mossley to accommodate four additional companions.
A recent grant from the Department of Communities and Local Government enabled improvements to be made to the workshops at Emmaus Mossley.
To comply with stricter regulations, a dust extraction system has been fitted that sucks up all the sawdust and particles created by the machinery, directly from source.
This has made a cleaner and more pleasant environment for companions to work in.
Abbé Pierre, founder of the Emmaus Movement, has died. He had been admitted to hospital suffering from a lung infection.
Abbé Pierre, who was 94, was a tireless human rights activist and the fact that the Emmaus Movement now consists of over 400 Communities around the world is testament to his amazing ability to inspire others to join him in his work.
Much needed repairs and improvements to the mill are finally being carried out thanks to a series of generous grants amounting to over £200,000. These include a substantial sum of £160,000 from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, now called the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Project Director Paul Misik says, "These grants have not only helped us to purchase a new van for our business but are also enabling us to add four more rooms to our premises which means we can welcome four more Companions into our Community. The money will also greatly improve the standard of accommodation for all those here at present. We are very grateful for all the financial aid to our project which offers constructive help to people who have found themselves without a place to live and work."
Emmaus Mossley has received some exciting news in recent weeks - the Duchess of Cornwall has confirmed that she is to be a patron for Emmaus UK.
Terry Waite, President of Emmaus UK said, "We are so pleased to be able to welcome The Duchess of Cornwall into the family of Emmaus. Her contribution will be of tremendous benefit to this charity which is working so creatively with homeless people."
