Local HEROES

Meet three women dedicated to bringing their communities together

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Empowering people is at the heart of what we do'

Katherine McDermott-Darley, 62, an ex-management consultant, artist and sculptor, set up Budleigh Community Workshop in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, with her husband Bill, a retired colonel in the Royal Marines.

Bill loves working with wood and I am passionate about anything creative, from felting and sculpting to writing poetry. Our dream was to create a welcoming, inclusive space where anyone could come along to learn practical skills and express their creativity. We wanted to work on a project together, and had been talking about starting a workshop to serve the community for a couple of years. When the local fire station came up for sale in early 2020, we jumped at the chance to go and see it. As soon as we stepped inside, we knew it was perfect. It was right in the middle of town, the sturdy ground floor was suitable for heavy machinery and there was a lovely large space upstairs.

To raise the money to buy it, we established a charity and embarked on an ambitious fundraising campaign: we printed thousands of leaflets, applied for grants, did local radio interviews and social media marketing, and launched a crowdfunding site. Fortunately, our career skills proved endlessly transferable, and we raised £425,000 within just seven months, which was way beyond anything we expected.

Much of our campaigning took place between March and September 2020, at the height of COVID-19, which actually helped - I think people really needed a sense of community. Most donations came from individuals giving anything from a few pounds to thousands. We have a board on the wall in the workshop displaying the names of everyone who donated, which will remain there forever.