M&S Glasgow Fort

G.E.S.H is a voluntary organisation which has been running in the heart of the East End of Glasgow for over 40 years. We offer a positive hub of community, friendship & care to over 600 members, particularly those with mental & physical disabilities. G.E.S.H can also be used to provide training, social & recreational services for everyone. People around the Greater Easterhouse / Garthamlock area use the centre on a weekly basis as a thriving social club and as an entertainment and activity venue. You can also hire G.E.S.H for functions and private events. We are proud to provide our members with meal services, including a Wednesday lunch club, a tasty canteen and affordable catering for your community event. The centre is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm & then from 6pm-10pm. Opening times over the weekend may alternate & can be flexible & negotiable. Premises are wheelchair friendly.

We are a lunch club which meets every Wednesday to provide a lunch of home made soup/filled rolls/home baking/biscuits/tea/coffee for local people. We have 77 members in age groups from mid 40s to early 90s. With a mix of able bodied people, 3 wheelchair bound, 2 registered blind. The majority of our members are fit enough to make their own way to the Club but some are housebound and we collect these people each week The Club provides company, stimulation and the ability to make new friends. As well as providing lunch, we also have entertainment each week. Some weeks this is bingo, others a quiz. We also have professional singers who come along to entertain us on a regular basis. Chair aerobics is provided around every month and this is very popular and helpful with movement for some of our members We also have chiropodist who visits every 4 or 5 weeks, which is very popular Around four times each year we have a professional troupe who come along to entertain us with a 'grown up' pantomime. We make a weekly charge of £5 to those who are able to pay, to cover the running costs and allow us to arrange outings with any surplus monies. There is no pressure for payment from those unable to pay We do not collect food from any other organisation and the Neighbourly donation is a boon to our members who very much appreciate the assistance. We have been fortunate to have some financial backing from North Lanarkshire Council since our inception. We have also over the past few years been fortunate enough to have occasional donations from local businesses. Each Christmas we have a raffle to raise additional funds and when possible, we have a Social night when tickets are sold to members of the local community to come along to see what we do. We have now been on the go for 10 years and our accounts are audited each year by a local accountancy firm Whenever we have been given a donation from local businesses, we try to ensure it is publicised in our local free community magazine, Stepps on the Level. We were fortunate to be entertained by children from one of our local primary schools just before Christmas last year. We are also at present enjoying computer tuition from local primary 7 pupils The address of the Club is The Old School Centre, St Josephs Church Hall, Cardowan Road, Glasgow G33 6AA. We identify potential new members through word of mouth from local people/ organisations who advise us of vulnerable people. We have a waiting list at present as the Hall is at capacity with our existing members. We have a facebook page - Wednesday Lunch Club - which has loads of photographs plus videos showing our members joining in the fun.

The People’s Pantry is a membership-led shop providing access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food, as well as household essentials. Anyone who lives in the G41/G42 postcode areas can become a Pantry member for £6 a year. After joining, members can shop weekly for £4 and fill their baskets with purchases up to the value of £30.