Locals encouraged to share their Workspace memories at Ballinascreen Historical Society's April meeting

Workspace’s impact on the village of Draperstown and the wider parish of Ballinascreen, and beyond, has often gone under the radar despite the transformative developments and initiatives it has delivered over the last four decades.

In the early 1980s the local unemployment rate had spiralled well beyond 30% and the overall mood was gloomy.

In contrast, nowadays the district has full employment with hundreds of people employed in the village and lots of opportunities for good, well-paid jobs.

As the UK’s leading social enterprise, authenticated by the recent accolade of Social Enterprise of the Year, their strap line of “Passionate about business, delivering to our community” has never been so apt.

Since 1985 Workspace has taken the lead for countless community and social projects and there are very many public, and private, demonstrations of their “profit for purpose” ethos.

Those attending Ballinascreen Historical Society’s April meeting will learn all about the company’s successes, and failures, over the years.

Georgina Grieve, chief executive of Workspace, together with Patsy M’Shane, the first chief executive, will outline the history of the organisation including the subsidiary companies, the innovative programmes and also the large number of local community enriching projects which have benefitted from the company’s profits.

Throughout this 40^th anniversary year Workspace has planned several colourful celebratory events.

Memories of people, places and projects will be revived, but there were few more colourful distractions than the emergence, in March 1994, of the big bright yellow bus which set off from the former Taylor’s Yard to offer help and assistance to rural communities right across the mid-Ulster area.

The memory of that Playbus, and countless more memories, will be rekindled on the evening of Tuesday, April 1 at 8pm with the venue being, very appropriately, the Workspace Community Hub.

Everyone is invited to come along and share their Workspace memories.

It’s time to celebrate a huge success story from our own wee village.