The Circle is in the final week of its crowdfunding campaign to repair Dudhope Castle’s only accessible toilet.
The Circle, an award-winning social enterprise which rents workspaces to community groups, charities and social enterprises at its Dudhope Castle base, has been crowdfunding to urgently repair the building’s only accessible toilet. The campaign is now in its final week.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/dignity-in-design-the-circles-accessible-toilet
The accessible toilet has been declared unsafe to use since severe damage caused by a leak was discovered last month.
The Circle aims to raise £6,500 to fix the vitally needed amenity, as soon as possible. The social enterprise has now raised over three-quarters of its target and is appealing to the community to get it over the finish line.
Founder and CEO of The Circle, Kirsty Thomson, says: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response we’ve gotten to this fundraiser so far and we hope to keep this momentum up in the last week. It’s vital that we reopen the toilet as soon as possible so we can welcome back our community members who haven’t been able to visit since January.”
Since The Circle moved into Dudhope Castle in 2022, the building has become a thriving community hub at full capacity with 11 charities, social enterprises, community groups and businesses based there.
The Circle and its tenants at Dudhope Castle provide vital services to the community including disabled people, vulnerable young people and people with mental health conditions. The building, which is visited by hundreds of people every week, also has an event space which is booked regularly for public and private events.
The impact of a lack of accessible toilets can be profound for those who need them. According to a Euan’s Guide survey, 78% of disabled people have avoided going somewhere that did not have an accessible toilet. While the accessible toilet at The Circle is closed, visitors must choose between using a less appropriate facility, or staying away. For some, this means not accessing services that are vital to their wellbeing.
One tenant at The Circle is Uppertunity, a charity that runs social, therapeutic and educational groups for adults with learning disabilities, autism, mental health barriers or other additional support needs. Some of their members require access to a disabled toilet and Uppertunity is a key part of their social lives.
Uppertunity’s Founder, Danielle Gaffney du Plooy, says: “This has had a huge impact on us in this short period as it has caused some of our clients to reduce their services with us while we wait for it to be fixed. This then not only impacts that person, but their family, and also their friends at Uppertunity.”
The Circle now has 1 week left to reach its fundraising goal, with the crowdfund ending on Monday 4th March.
You can donate to the fundraiser here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/dignity-in-design-the-circles-accessible-toilet
The Circle
The Circle is an award winning 'More Than Profit' organisation that supports businesses to make a difference to communities by providing affordable consultancy, training and workspaces, within an inclusive and friendly community.
