The Florrie appeals for donations to help keep classes free

As local community hub The Florrie approaches its 10th year, it is appealing for donations to ensure that it can continue to offer free activities for all.

Timo Tierney started life at The Florrie in February 2016 as a volunteer and has remained there ever since. Hailing originally from local bands The Maybes and latterly The Tea Street Band, Timo knows music inside out and he initially offered his acumen to lead The Florrie’s guitar class which quickly flourished, leading to him establishing the full programme of Community Hub activities at The Florrie.

And now, with almost a decade of Community classes at The Florrie their importance to the Dingle and wider Liverpool community is essential. Helping to combat social isolation, improve cognitive function and to have fun, learn and create, underpins the 19 different classes every week at The Florrie. The scale and variety of these classes has grown each year, covering art, men’s walks, gardening, ukulele, Tai Chi, history, autism support, genealogy and many more, with tens of thousands of people attending since the classes began. For Timo, whose guitar class is the longest running, the Community Hub shows how essential they are to the Dingle community and wider city. He regards the incredible diversity of attendees as testament to the importance and positive impact each class has.

The classes have always been free for anyone to attend, and The Florrie are dedicated to maintaining this, too. But increasingly it’s becoming harder – there’s increasing competition for grants and funding and more people who need support than The Florrie can manage. Rising costs from utilities and suppliers also threaten the classes’ future unless more money can be raised by Christmas 2025. The Florrie relies on donations, fundraisers and sponsorship, but needs more support than ever. The target to keep our classes free for 1 year is £25,000.00.

Timo said:

“Our weekly timetable is made up from what volunteers can offer at The Florrie. We never underestimate the importance of volunteers here and if we didn’t have people kindly offering their time, we would not have such a great timetable of classes each week. Because the classes are free we’re able to welcome everyone. When I started here almost ten years ago, the aim was to help combat social isolation. Then in lock down it was to keep people safe, and now we are back in full flow with the activities that improve people’s lives in meaningful ways. The Florrie brings people together from all different ages and backgrounds, from the Dingle and wider community. The classes are always inclusive, never exclusive, and it’s heartening to know just how much they’re valued. But we’re facing huge challenges, and we need to raise money and get further sponsorship for the classes by this Christmas for the classes to stay free.

The Florrie team are focused on keeping the Community Hub activities free for all, with exciting events and fundraising activities planned for the rest of 2025 and into 2026. The Florrie’s Big Guitar-In is back on Thursday December 11^th and recent fundraising events include the Celebration of Southend Football and The Magical History Tour family day event.

Timo added:

“I’ve been here close to a decade now – The Florrie has evolved in so many amazing ways. It’s a very important place to so many people. I am a friend, social worker, carer, doer and the ‘fella who learns you how to play guitar’ – a forever charging power bank that so many people plug into. I am more than happy when I’m at work, and so The Florrie and everything I do and people I work with mean so much to me. I care endlessly in improving people’s lives. To keep this going as we want it to, we need as much support as possible on top of what we have got planned from The Florrie, including the Big Guitar-In.”