Bottesford-based Friendly Bench CIC to end but benches will remain in place across UK
A community enterprise is ending as it could not get the necessary funding to continue.
The Friendly Bench CIC, founded by Lyndsey Young in Bottesford, will cease operating this month, but its benches will remain in their 15 locations across the UK to “continue its legacy”.
Lyndsey founded The Friendly Bench in 2018 to combat loneliness. It went onto win various accolades including RHS Gold Award for Best Garden for Social Needs and RHS Achievement award for Cultivating Your Community.
“It’s really disappointing as we know we are making a massive difference to the community,” said Lyndsey.
She added: “The bottom line is we needed funding to continue, so we had to come to this difficult decision.
“All of the Friendly Benches across the UK will continue as they are supported by communities, it will just be the office that will not be able to grow, which was our initial aim.
“We know we are voluntary heavy, but doing things like project management, marketing and all that sort of stuff comes at a cost. We had to have a realistic look at things.
“We heard from another organisation that we shouldn’t doubt that we have not only changed lives, but we have saved lives.
“We have surpassed what our intentions were.”
The Friendly Benches provide a place for communities to come together and tackle problems such as loneliness and social isolation, something Lyndsey believes has become a significant problem since the Covid-19 lockdown.
She added: “Since Covid, people are lonelier than ever.
“People are staying home and staying in because they can’t afford to go out.
“The benches provide this welcoming space for community members to meet and connect with one another.”
Lyndsey is now searching for a job, but she hopes to provide free social marketing to smaller businesses within the area.
She added: “All of our groups continue, but most importantly the legacy will continue.
“They will be staying in the community. It’s a place for people to gather, unfortunately it's just the growth and expansion that will not go on.”