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Charity's £100k campaign to help spend a penny

Seb CheerYorkshire
News imageEd Clews Three people wearing purple T-shirts. One is sitting in a wheelchair, with the other two standing. They are positioned around a toilet in an outdoor setting, holding three placards with the letters "S. O. S."Ed Clews
The "sort our sewers" campaign is the charity's first online crowdfunder

A charity has launched its first ever online crowdfunding campaign in a bid to raise £100,000 to install a sewage system.

Brunswick Organic Nursery in Bishopthorpe, York, supports adults with learning disabilities to be part of a team through horticulture, retail and office roles.

However, co-director Lauren Webb said the site's septic tank system was "on its last legs", meaning people had been using "cold and draughty" temporary outdoor toilet facilities for more than a year.

Ms Webb said: "We all want to get back to using the normal toilets indoors again, especially in the winter months."

Connecting to the mains drainage was "unavoidable", Ms Webb explained.

"It's essential. We've got to do it."

Ms Webb said the plans had already been approved, with building work expected to start early in the new year.

News imageBrunswick Organic Nursery Three men in a woodworking workshop.Brunswick Organic Nursery
The charity provides opportunities for adults with learning disabilities to work in woodwork, shopwork, gardening, cooking and crafts

However, with a £100,000 total in costs to the project, Ms Webb said she was concerned that without extra support, it would drain funds which could be used for other opportunities and developments.

"Brunswick has lots of other things going on all the time," she explained.

"We want to make sure, as a social care provider, that we continue to be financially strong and resilient in what has been quite difficult times for social care funding."

David, who attends Brunswick throughout the week, said the charity was "everything" to him.

"I really don't like having to use the outdoor toilets because its cold, smelly and dark," he said.

News imageBrunswick Organic Nursery A group of people holding up vegetables, lined up outside a shop and smiling at a camera.Brunswick Organic Nursery
Ms Webb said being connected to the sewer network would make a "really big difference" to everyone the charity works with

Ms Webb said that, for some people, using a portable lavatory and temporary toilet block had been physically challenging.

"We've really tried to make sure we've minimised that impact wherever possible, but it will just make everybody's day to day much more comfortable," she said.

Ms Webb said the temporary system had been in place for "much longer than we would ever want", adding that being connected to the mains drainage system would "make a really big difference for everybody".

Speaking less than a week after the campaign was launched, she said they had so far been "really blown away by the support".

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