Why not get into the Christmas spirit and help support our work with a fun-filled evening of music with fantastic local opera singers (and Streetwise Opera Workshop leaders) Elise Dye, Gavin Bailey and David Owen-Lewis. Let them entertain you with classic opera and musical numbers and join in with a festive singalong with Streetwise performers from the Booth Centre.

When: 17th December, 19:30 - 21:30
Where: St. James and Emmanuel Church, 6 Barlow Moor Road, Didsbury, Manchester.

Tickets are £8.00 for adults and £6.00 for concessions. You can buy them from the Streetwise Opera website or on the door.

On Friday 25th November 35 people decided to brave the cold weather and sleep outside Manchester Cathedral to raise money for the Booth Centre.

The event raised over £5,000, which will make an immediate difference to the work the centre can do. Amanda Croome, manager of the Booth Centre said "The number of homeless people in Manchester has increased recently and the Booth Centre is doing everything it can to ensure that as few people as possible end up rough sleeping, and those that do are able to get off the streets as quickly as possible.  This boost to our funds will make a real difference to our work."

Although the event only gave a glimpse of what life on the streets is like, we wanted to make sure that those participating understood the reality of sleeping rough. "We asked two people who have slept rough in the past to give everyone taking part a true picture of what it is really like to sleep out, how dangerous and demoralising it is and also to explain how they have rebuilt their lives with help from the Booth Centre."  

Among those taking part in the event was Jill Southern, who works at St Thomas Primary School in Leigh. "It was a great experience. I did get a couple of hours sleep, but I'm lucky enough to be able to come home to a warm house and a cosy bed afterwards. The evening really made me appreciate what I've got."

A huge thank you to everyone that took part and made this event such a success! For photos of the event please see our facebook page. 

We are currently in desperate need of a Polish speaking volunteer who could offer assistance at the Centre during the day on weekdays, helping to translate for some of the homeless Polish people who are using the Booth Centre at the moment.  No qualifications are needed and full support and training would be provided.  

If you can help or know anyone that might be interested we would love to hear from you - please email emily@boothcentre.org.uk or phone Emily on 0161 835 2499 to discuss it. Thank you. 

The Lord Mayor came and talked to our Learning Circle today and told us all about how he became the Lord Mayor and what the job involves.  He also presented some people with Award Certificates!

We run our Learning Circle talks every Thursday morning and invite outside speakers to come and deliver interesting, lively and thought provoking talks which aim to stimulate discussions and help people to develop their group work and communication skills. 

New timetable
Our new timetable runs from July to September and features some exciting new programmes.
 
Open Cinema launch
On 4th July we are launching our Open Cinema.  This is a new cinema club which will be running every Monday afternoon.  Films will be projected on a very large screen at the centre and we've had a surround sound speakers installed - so it should be an excellent experience.  The timetable of films is is available here. There will also be shorts, popcorn and guest speakers from the film industry.  Later in the summer we will also be making our own film, which will be screened at the end of the season.  It's all free, including a buffet lunch, if people arrive for 12 noon.

Drama with the Royal Exchange
New members are welcome to join our drama group which holds workshops every Friday from 10:00 to 12:30 (followed by a free lunch).  The group also get free trips to see plays at the Royal Exchange.
 
Singing workshops
New members are also welcome to join our singing workshops on Wednesdays from 13:00 to 15:00.  You are welcome to sit and watch if you don't want to join in straight away.  You don't have to be a good singer, everyone can enjoy the sessions. The group get free trips to the Lowry to see Opera North productions.

Construction skills certification scheme
We are still offering free CSCS training and tests for people who want their health and safety card to work in the construction industry.  People can practice on our computers (in a variety of languages) and when they are ready we will put them in for the test, pay for it and take them down to the test centre.  It's a great way to get a qualification. You just need to come to our Employment Workshop from 09:00 to 12:00 on Monday mornings.

Staff changes
Christine, who has worked at the Booth Centre for over 10 years, retired at the end of June.  Kate McSweeney, who has been in post since April, will be taking over her particular responsibilities for helping people into work.  We wish Christine all the best for the future! 

On 30th June our Streetwise Opera singing group put on a performance of Fables: A Film Opera at the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme, as part of the Not Part Of Festival.  It was a fantastic event and a huge success.  

This is a photo of the group, just before they went on stage (photo by Ciara Leeming)

To find out more about our collaboration with Streetwise Opera and our programme of musical activities for homeless people, please see our Music page. 

Here are a few photos we took from our entry in the 2011 Manchester Day parade. We had a great time walking the parade route with our giant explorer and jungle creature, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Almost 70,000 people lined the streets to watch the parade, and we were even lucky enough to have some sunshine to brighten up the day!