1997 - October
Formation of Newmarket
Open Door with the first meeting of the Management
Committee.
A supporter donated the first five pounds
to start the company. |
1998 - July
Registration as a
Charity |
|
1998 - October
Registration as a
Company |
1998 - 2000
Open Door
undertook a number of fundraising events including:
- A float was entered in the Newmarket Carnival
- Sponsored walks and cycles
- Sixties Night Dance
- Quiz Night
- Concert featuring local folk singer and songwriter
Jancis Harvey
- Festival of flowers and music
|
1999 - June
Winner of the Nationwide
Regional Award for Voluntary Endeavour |
1999 - October
Opening of
Portland House
The wife of local pastor and
founder, Kevan Crane came across Portland House in the
High Street and promoted it for conversion to a
supported hostel. Forest Heath District Council financed
the purchase and building works for Suffolk Housing
Society with Open Door as the managing
agent. |
2001 - October
Opening of the Old
Station Road Charity Shop
Following on from the
successful regular fundraising stalls with donated goods
in the Catholic Church car park Open Door leased 18 Old
Station Road to retail donated quality furniture,
bric-a-brac, clothing and books. The opening was
supported by the Town Mayor, Cllr. George Lambton and
Elvis!
Open Door was fortunate to
have close links with Cambridge Emmaus, from whom the
first van was purchased at a considerable discount, and
for their invaluable advice and support. |
|
2001
Portland House
Through an
internal re-organisation the house was adapted to
provide eight rooms. |
|
Supporting People Suffolk
Achieved
accreditation and awarded contract with Supporting
People to provide housing
support. |
2002
WoodWorks!
Open Door took a
lease on a small industrial unit at Craven Way to start
WoodWorks! to provide informal training opportunities in
furniture repair to disadvantaged people. The Lloyds TSB
Foundation funded the cost of a part-time worker in the
first year and many other local organisations made
donations of finance and equipment The Round Table
organised a pantomime horse race at the Racecourse. Open
Door’s entry came second from last but the winner was a
panto cow. Our calls for a steward’s inquiry went
unheeded! |
2002
Finalist Cambridge Evening News
Community Challenge Awards |
|
|
2002/03/04
Newmarket Past and Present.
Calendars of photographs depicting the changes to
Newmarket landscape were put together to raise funds for
Newmarket Open Door, with the help of local historian
Peter Norman and photographer Tony
Jedrej. |
2003
Winner of the Newmarket Business
Association Award for Community Engagement |
2003 -
April
Rockfield House
Open Door was appointed the
managing agent of Rockfield House by Forest Heath
District Council on the retirement of the resident
wardens. This is a temporary contract as the Council is
planning to replace the house with two smaller hostels
in Newmarket and
Mildenhall. |
2003 - October
Chairman of
Newmarket Open Door, Father Paul Hypher, retires and
moves to Yorkshire. He hands over to John
Morris |
|
2003/04
Church Hall Sales
Open
Door continued to build the furniture business, using
three garages on loan and a redundant church at Fordham.
Regular sales were held in the Catholic Church and the
old parish room was filled to overflowing! |
2004 - October
Cranworth
House
Hereward Housing kindly permitted Open Door
to occupy their redundant neighbourhood office pending
negotiations of development agreement to link the two
houses and create a further five rooms of accommodation.
With the achievement of planning permission Open Door
increased the number of units on site to ten.
Terry Waite CBE first visited
Open Door and formally opened the Cranworth House
office. He signed a replica of the postcard, the only
mail he received whilst in captivity for nearly five
years in the Lebanon. John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress
which now hangs in pride of place in the office.
|
|
2004
Runner Up Children’s Support
Cambridge Evening News Community Awards |
2005 - July
Second Van
After a successful Business
in the Community visit focussing on rural social
exclusion Open Door was fortunate to receive another van
donated by the Post Office. |
 |
2005 - August
Following the success of
WoodWorks! the Charity Superstore and Training Centre
was opened at Unit 2 Craven Way. In the past year over
38 volunteers have assisted the core staff in building
its success. Conversion works have been undertaken with
the support of the West Suffolk Crime Reduction Panel
and the Cambridgeshire Recycling Network. |
2005 - November
Windsor House
Open Door completed the
purchase in November after raising the funds through a
commercial mortgage and a further mortgage at a
discounted rate through another charity. The use is
currently limited to two lettable rooms pending a
planning application for conversion to a house in
multiple occupation to provide a further two rooms.
|
 |
2006
Terry Waite CBE
Terry agreed to support Open
Door as our President and Patron and attended the first
anniversary celebrations of the Charity
Superstore.
Since opening in 1999,
Portland House resident
numbers have exceeded
seventy. |