The community building is in dire need of repairs to the roof and attics and the trustees are hoping that a new fundraising campaign will help to fund the work required.
 
To support the campaign, the Bircham Centre is asking for people to sponsor one or more tiles on the roof at a minimum donation of £5 per tile.
 
An application for funding from Broadland District Council’s Pride in Place programme has been successful and the charity will receive £20,000 – provided it can raise equivalent match funding.
 
The full match funding will be achieved through donations and the proceeds of the “Raise the Roof” campaign.
 
The chair of the Bircham Centre trustees, Les West, is hopeful that the charity will meet its target of raising £10,000 through the fundraising campaign.
 
“Reepham people are always hugely supportive of the Bircham Centre and recognise the important role it plays in the community,” he said. “We are so grateful for their generosity: we can’t survive without it.”
 
The money raised could also be used as funding to help gain grants for the roof and attic repairs, which would allow more critical work to be undertaken.
 
The Bircham Centre was given to Reepham for use by the community in 1919 by Samuel Bircham and relies on donations, fundraising and the occasional grant to meet the cost of its maintenance.
 
The centre houses not only the town’s charity shop and book room, but also hosts the library, the archive and the weekly Country Market.
 
The historic building also provides meeting/consulting rooms for therapists, groups and individuals.
 
To sponsor tiles, supporters are invited to visit the Bircham Centre’s JustGiving page, or to complete a paper form and drop it, together with a cheque or cash, into the Raise the Roof box in the charity shop when open, or into the secure post-box in the front door.
 
Further details of the Raise the Roof campaign can be found on the Bircham Centre’s new website.