PRESTON MONTSERRAT & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION
Established in 1982. To value montserratians heritage. To work for the welfare, growth and the stability of all the people of montserrat and their descendants. Promote health and well being, to advance education, to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare, leisure and recreation and other benefits so as to improve the conditions of life for all its members Mary Piper said on 29th September 2011 "On behalf of the Preston Montserrat & Friends Association I would like to express our sincere appreciation for your support in empowering us to operate efficiently and effectively."
Mary Piper said by email on 21st December 2011 "The Preston Montserrat & Friends Association would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Lancashire BME pact for their continued support in moving the association forward and helping us achieve our aims and objectives.
Our initial contact with Christina Cooper was very professional, informative and productive. She outlined clear pathways of support that can be provided by BME pact - they have to date delivered proficiently all the services and training that were originally laid out in our development plan. Christina has been very professional and has demonstrated a real commitment to her work. She was often quite flexible in the meeting with us at a time and place that were convenience to us. Her knowledge and skills in community development has been exemplary; this has aroused great enthusiasm in our membership. The continued assistance of the BME pact has equipped us with the knowledge and skills necessary to secure funding for our Preston Guild 2012 project.
This project provides residents and friends the opportunity to learn and appreciate Montserratian heritage through a series of activities and events.
We also had a governance health check with Donna Carney who has gone through all the policies and good practice with us. She has assisted us in laying a foundation that has enabled us to work more efficiently and effectively. She helped us in the preparation of all our policies and procedures, we now have in place to support our project ‘Montserratians’ culture within the Preston Community’ as we have been guided in the implementation of appropriate quality practice.
Members of our association have attended several training courses e.g. Basic Finance, Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers and Effective networking and Communication Skills that have empowered us to positively impact the community. We now have a clearly defined structure for the Association that will enable to focus on our vision.
Our contact with the office has often been Mariyam, who has always demonstrated excellent customer care service, and have followed up our requests and suggestions. The entire team at the BME has been patient, understanding and cooperative. In our quest for information and skills we have probably established a rapport we most of the BME pact officers. We sincerely appreciate all you have done and continue to do for us, your input in the Preston Montserrat & Friends Association has been invaluable.
Thank you."