On 31st March 2014 the Booth Centre will be moving to a new building - Edward Holt House, just a 5 minute walk from our current home at Manchester Cathedral. Our existing premises have served us well, but with the large number of people coming to us for support we've had a real need for more space. This new building will enable us to greatly extend our services for homeless people and help many more people get off the streets, gain skills and qualifications, get back into work and resettle in the community.

The new building is much larger than our current one, which is going to enable us to do so much more to help people that come to us for support every day. We have a large cafe space, dedicated advice rooms, an activities room, training room, and a commercial kitchen where we will be able to train people in catering skills, as well as providing good quality food. Outside there's a large garden with an allotment and a boules court.

We'd like to thank the Edward Holt Trust, The Booth Charities and all the other individuals, companies and trusts who have helped us raise the money for this ambitious project. With your generous support we'll be able to continue making a real difference to the lives of homeless people in Manchester and Salford.

To see directions to our new building and download a map, please visit our updated contact details page. 

Could you help raise money for the centre by taking part in the Bupa Great Manchester Run? Registrations are now open!

Join 40,000 people for Europe's biggest 10k running event on Sunday 18 May 2014. Entries cost £38 (£31.66 plus VAT at 20%) which includes a T-shirt, medal, Finishers Pack and accurate chip timing.

Join the Booth Centre team and help raise money for our Centre.  Once you've registered, just send us an email and we'll arrange to send you a Booth Centre running vest or t-shirt and a sponsorship form.

You can register for the event online, and there's lots more information on their website.

The Booth Centre has been shortlisted for a Lloyds Community Fund Award of £3,000 and the winner will be decided by a public vote.
 
We would use the money to set up a welfare fund to purchase basic furniture for people moving off the streets to help them to establish new homes in the community. 

You can help us make this happen by casting your vote - it's quick and simple!
 
You can vote online or by visiting your local Lloyds Bank branch and asking at the desk for a voting token and casting your vote in the bank.

If you'd prefer you can vote by SMS too. Just text VOTE LQHB to 61119. Texts will be charged at your mobile network provider's standard rate.

You have until 1st November to cast your vote. Please share with anyone who may be interested in voting for us! Thank you.

A team from Altrincham Grammar School have won the Youth Philanthropy Initiative Award on behalf of the Booth Centre.  The project aims to get young people engaged in social change and participate in growing compasionate communities.  The £3,000 prize money will help to fund our Cafe Advice sessions, which provides free food, socks and toiletries to 170 people a week and to fund furniture packages for people moving into new homes.  Congratulations to Robyn, Maria, Kate and Lamisa and thank you for your suppport.

Tomorrow the Booth Centre's Streetwise Opera singing group will be travelling to London to perform at the British Film Institute on the South Bank in the premiere of The Answer to Everything.  This is the culmination  of two years of devising, recording, filming and rehearsing.

To coincide with the premiere, celebrated soprano (and Patron of Streetwise Opera) Elizabeth Watts, Duncan Ward and The Sacconi Quartet have generously allowed Streetwise Opera to release their recording of 'Lascia Ch'io Pianga' from Handel's Rinaldo as a single to raise funds. The track appears in a section of The Answer to Everything and also features Streetwise Opera singers from Manchester and Nottingham singing a chorus part devised by Duncan Ward. This is Streetwise Opera's first commercial release.

You can download the track for just £0.79 - all proceeds will go to help fund Streetwise's work at the Booth 
Centre and around the country.

If you can't get to London to see the performance then we hope you'll download the single and listen to this unique track, which will give  you just a flavour of the unique opportunity the Booth Centre gives homeless people to take part in professional opera singing with all the benefits of increased confidence, and self esteem that it brings.
 

On Friday 9th November over 100 people decided to brave cold and wet weather to sleep outside Manchester Cathedral to raise money for the Booth Centre.

Around £15,000 has already been raised through the event with more donations to come, which will have a significant impact on the work the centre is able to do. Amanda Croome, manager of the Booth Centre said "This is a particularly challenging time of year for people who find themselves homeless, and as the nights get colder and wetter it's vitally important that we're able to help people get off the streets and into suitable accommodation. This boost to our funds will make a huge difference to our work."  

Although the event gave participants a glimpse of some of the hardships homeless people have to face each night, organisers were committed to showing some of the positive changes the work of the Booth Centre can have on the lives of local homeless people. "One of the activities the centre runs is a weekly singing workshop in conjunction with Streetwise Opera and Opera North. We staged a mini opera during the sleepout involving some of the people who use the centre regularly, and it was great to see such a positive reaction to their performance."

Among those taking part in the event was Helen Varley, who works for CBBC in Salford Quays. "It was an amazing experience but also a harsh insight into the life some people have to lead. I felt the winter chill in my bones, my sleeping bag was soggy, and the hard ground and noise made sleep pretty impossible - I think I got 30 minutes kip all night! I don't think anyone who was part of the sleepout will ever take a warm bed for granted again and I'm proud and pleased that we have all come together for such a great cause."

Thank you to everyone who took part and made this such a successful event. We'll update you with a final total when we've finished collecting all the sponsorship raised! 

We have launched our Harvest Festival Appeal to help us to provide hot drinks and free food to the 120 homeless people who visit the Booth Centre each week.  Please download a poster with all the details and share it wherever it will be welcome - at university, at work or on your community noticeboard! 

For more information please see our Harvest Festival Appeal page.