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Sunderland VCSE
Marketplace
Connect Engage Organise
Friends of The Donnison School
CO
Organisation Type:
Provision Areas:
Heritage and well being
Contact Details:
Bernadette Gibson
Aims and Objectives
To contribute to the understanding of the rich heritage of The Donnison School to the city and the region. To promote the advancement of education, recreation and leisure opportunities for all residents of Sunderland through the establishment, development and maintenance of The Donnison School Heritage, Education and Reminiscence Centre. • Engaging local people in the activities, events and outreach of the facility.
• Promote the regional significance of the site.
• Promoting recreational, educational, heritage and community facilities.
• To raise funds and receive contributions, where appropriate, to finance the work of the facility and the upkeep of the building and premises.
• To publicise and promote work and activities through The Friends of The Donnison School.
History and Background
Establish in 2009. The Friends of the Donnison School has over 600 registered through the events and mailing lists. It has 45 registered volunteers and supports 30,000 visitors per year on site
Activities and Projects
The Lovell Lectures
As always, The Friends of The Donnison School (FoDS) delivered 10 community lectures this year. The lectures run once a month and attract a good audience and provide a mixture of local and national entertainment through our resident historians Stuart Miller and Jack Curtis.
Day Trips from The Donnison School
FoDs advertised 5 day trips for visitors to enjoy including our annual trip to Pickering. The trips are always a success and we hope to continue this opportunity, The trips are organised and ran by Bernadette Gibson.
Heritage Events
The Donnison School had a number of special heritage events this year, which included, Mary Anne Cotton Evening event, International women’s Day, Open Day for Sunderland History Fair, Forward, Forward Sisters, celebrating women’s suffrage as well as a WWI commemoration event. The Donnison was also open again for the National Heritage Open Days, Volunteers supported 2 weekends this year!The Donnison Fayres
These annual events have become a much loved part of the programme here at The Donnison School. As always we celebrated these occasions with our Easter, Summer and Christmas Fayres. These events through donations and raffles are an important element of our annual fundraising campaign for the centre and its work.