The charity turned its community centre in Newcastle’s district of Byker to a warm hub through the winter months to help local vulnerable and older people.
Over 100 people visited the centre during the week, with a large number regularly spending the whole day there.
The grant was used to cover the cost of providing a hot meal, drinks and snacks to anyone who needed them.
The centre was opened in 2006 and provides a befriending service for older people as well as activities for baby and young children groups, on-site nursery and volunteering.
It also offers family support advice, employment and training support as well as a cafe.
The centre is wholly-grant funded and needs to raise £250,00 every year to cover running costs.
Helen Twelves, director of finance at St Martin’s Centre Partnership, said: “Providing a warm, welcoming space that people could visit any time they wanted without worrying about the cost, and where they could stay in as long as they wanted, took away a lot of the worry that our visitors might otherwise have been facing.
“With a lot of money to raise every year and a lot of different costs to cover, we simply wouldn’t have been able to offer this additional help without Newcastle Building Society’s support and we’re grateful to have had them in our corner.”
Franco Di Pietro (pictured, middle), head of intermediaries at Newcastle Building Society, who recently visited the charity, added: “St Martin’s recognition of and response to an urgent community need has made a huge difference to the well-being of more than 150 local people when they’ve needed it most.
“We’re very pleased to have been able to support the invaluable work of another amazing charity in our home city.”
