Society's News

President’s Charity of the Year – Bristol Children’s Help Society

                            The Bristol Children’s Help Society is a privately funded volunteer led charity that owns and runs Barton Camp our 100 bed residential children’s centre in the beautiful Mendip hills. Barton Camp operates through the year as a base where disadvantaged local children can enjoy a few … more

BLS features in Bristol Post oldest thriving companies in Bristol

Excerpt from the article: How Bristol’s oldest companies are still thriving after more than 100 years in business They include the city’s last-surviving chocolate maker a wine merchant and a tannery. Why do some companies struggle to survive beyond a year while others flourish for hundreds? Although more than 90 per cent of small companies in Britain will survive one … more

No 12, The Meeting Rooms – Conference, Meeting and Mediation Rooms for Hire

Bristol Law Society’s suite of conference and meeting rooms including a suite of mediation rooms are conveniently located in the centre between the Waterfront Area and the Old City in a modern building situated on the corner of Colston Avenue and St Stephen’s Avenue. There are a number of large public car parks within a 5 minute walk from the … more

Volunteers and Trustees wanted for Fairfield House, Bath

Volunteers & trustees positions to fulfil the legacy of H.I.M Haile Selassie I to the City of Bath

Fairfield House is looking for a wide range of volunteers, and in due course some trustees. Could this be you?

Background

The Friends of Fairfield House are concluding an agreement with Bath & NE Somerset Council to put Fairfield House, former home of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, into the control of a new charity. The house at 2 Kelston Road, Bath is of immense historic cultural and sacred significance – the residence of an Ethiopian Emperor who came to Bath as a war refugee, left it with his dignity and reputation intact and fortunes restored and gifted the house in gratitude to the city.

The challenges the trustees and existing volunteers face include:

• negotiate and conclude the community asset transfer with B&NES
• establish a confident new CIO
• raise funds
• appoint staff
• execute viable business plan (based initially on rentals, hospitality, catering and trading)

Why does Fairfield matter?
The cultural historic and sacred dimensions of H.I.M’s legacy affect:

• the African diaspora; the main Ethiopian festivals are celebrated at Fairfield
• the Afro-Caribbean community in Britain
• Rastafari, for whom this place is literally the house of the Messiah. Anywhere Ras Teferi walked is sacred
• civic Bath and its self-esteem as a place of welcome for people in adversity who seek refuge here

The vision is of Fairfield House as a place of multi-cultural interfaith welcome for people in all their diversity in whatever adversity.

To succeed in its mission of fulfilling H.I.M’s legacy the Friends of Fairfield House need volunteers now, and the new charity will soon need Trustees.

The call is for a wide range of management and practical skills including:

• legal (wideranging – property, contracts, commercial)
• financial (again a wide range: FD, short and long-term fundraising, accounting)
• buildings (planning, practical skills)
• marketing and online sales
• recruitment and volunteer management
• and many other areas: events management, hospitality support, cleaning, gardening, tree surgery, crafts, admin, window-cleaning. So many things!)
• international relations.

If you’re willing but in doubt as whether you’ve got anything to offer please contact us!

This is a community undertaking – the hand timidly raised at the back of the room might end up as chair of the Board of trustees (that has happened!)

RSVP

Email letters of Application/CVs etc to Fairfield House infofairfieldhouse@gmail.com
Twitter @FairfieldHouse
Facebook Fairfield House, home of HIM Emperor Haile Selassie

[for other enquiries relating to Friends of Fairfield House bemsca@btconnect.com or wmheath+FFH@gmail.com ]