Signage specialist, FASTSIGNS Manchester, has partnered with Cheshire-based social enterprise and registered charity, Changing Lives Together (CLT), to refresh the look of its network of community hubs.

The community hubs, situated across Cheshire, offer services including family support, grocery shopping and food distribution, as well as furniture re-use and paint reclaim, all with the aim of providing aid to local people and reducing landfill.

The organisation prides itself on minimising wastage, repurposing and recycling to benefit the wider community. They find innovative solutions for environmental and social challenges, employing local people and offering employment to those most in need.

The aim of the project, set to take place over the course of six months, with the help of FASTSIGNS Manchester’s team of signage experts, is to refresh the image of the charity across five sites, starting with CLT Northwich - with the potential for more in the future.

This includes the remodelling of the traditional 'food bank' model into a community hub, where service users can access groceries in a comfortable, yet practical environment.

Each site will receive new exterior building signage, including permanent building signs, banners and directional signage. The first site to unveil its ‘new look’ is Changing Lives Together Northwich, which sees on average 1,200 customers each month, from across the community.

Since the improvements were made at the Northwich branch, the Changing Lives Together team has seen footfall treble, demonstrating the impact of its refresh.

Commenting on the partnership with Changing Lives Together, Richard Wedgwood, director at FASTSIGNS Manchester, said:

"We're proud to be partnering with Changing Lives Together on this project. In light of the cost-of-living crisis, food banks and social enterprises like Changing Lives Together have never been more important. They each play a crucial role in keeping communities together, and it's important for us to work with charities that are making a significant difference in people’s lives.

“We're humbled to have this unique opportunity to showcase our expertise and give back to the community by refreshing the charity's image, across a number of sites, and giving each community a hub that they can be proud of.”

David Grocott, CEO of Changing Lives Together, added:

“Changing Lives Together has grown over recent years to become one of the largest charities in Cheshire supporting thousands of people across the community in various critical services - the cost-of-living crisis has made our work even more crucial to the people we serve.

“We are constantly striving to improve our offering to protect the dignity of those we support. In particular, we recently undertook some substantial changes to our premises improving our community transport proposition, transforming two community groceries and rebranding our retail stores to promote greater environmental awareness.”

David, added:

“FASTSIGNS Manchester has been a huge supporter of our work; reducing the costs to us of new signage, enabling us to focus our spending on delivering critical services. Without their support, the change would not have been possible. We have seen our footfall treble post the transformation as we change from being another ‘charity shop’ to a unique and innovative transport, retail and food waste proposition.”

For further details about the Changing Lives Together charity, visit https://www.changing-lives-together.org.uk/. 

For more information on FASTSIGNS Manchester, visit https://www.fastsigns.co.uk/manchester/.