Amount awarded: £15,000

 

The new building offers improved space for activities to be set up and provides additional facilities to enable more community projects and initiatives.   

 

Team Leader at Touchstone, Barbara Glasson, recognised that it was time for the move: “The new building offers plenty of space for Touchstone’s work to grow and for creative partnerships with Abigail Housing and Beacon Bradford to flourish. It will also offer conference facilities, a counselling service and a beautiful quiet room.” 

 

For more than 25 years, Touchstone has been helping to build a community in Bradford, making a positive difference to inter-faith relations, not only in Bradford but also regionally and nationally in and outside the Methodist Church. Methodist Grants programme funding has helped support Touchstone and contributed towards enabling them to effectively refurbish a local bar into a new home for them. The new building has also recognised the need to be more environmentally friendly, including photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof and LED lighting throughout. 

 

The organisation offers a space for people to listen and communicate with each other and gives the opportunity to find common ground between the various religions within the community. 

 

Touchstone works closely with women and offers activities for them including, “Weaving Women’s Wisdom” and “Baking a Difference”. This opens up conversations about different faiths and the traditions that they follow, allowing the community to learn about each other.