Newton Dee, an Aberdeen charity dedicated to supporting adults with learning disabilities and complex additional support needs, will be staying warm this winter after securing a £20,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund towards replacing the heating in their community hall. 

The charity has relied on portable electric heaters as a temporary measure after the existing heating system failed several years ago. This workaround, while necessary, was expensive, inefficient, and put a strain on resources that are vital to the charity’s wider work. 

Jake Vollrath, Senior Coworker at Newton Dee, said:

“We’ve known for some time that the heating system needed to be completely replaced, but we were also mindful of the pressure such a major cost could place on our existing programmes. Thanks to the generous support of The National Lottery Community Fund, we can now move ahead with this essential upgrade without compromising the services we provide.” 

The community hall is not only an important hub for the 180 people who live at Newton Dee, but also an important venue for the wider community with regular events and gatherings such as plays, live concerts and craft fairs.  

The grant comes at a pivotal moment for the charity, which has recently launched a £2 million fundraising campaign to build a new bakery facility. This ambitious project will provide meaningful work and skill-building opportunities for the villagers at Newton Dee, as well as supporting the growing needs of their community and meeting their sustainability ambitions. Securing funding for the heating system allows the charity to focus more fully on driving the bakery campaign forward.