25 supporters
None of our work would be possible without the help of our loyal supporters, staff, volunteers, funders and collaborators. We’d like to highlight some of these, although there are so many more we could list. Whether listed or not, thanks to everyone for supporting us!
Tony Herbert – founder of Double Impact (posthumous)
"Congratulations to Double Impact - still making change 25 years on. Tony's family could not be more proud of this lasting tribute to his resilience and energy, which transformed trauma into new growth for so many."
Mick Herbert (Tony’s brother)
Ark House Rehab
Residential rehabilitation provides a vital foundation for recovery for many of the people we work with. We have been fortunate to work closely with this dedicated facility for many years and to see the resulting transformation in people's lives.
Graham Miller
As well as heading up the charity since its inception, Graham has dedicated himself to raising money on our behalf through distance running. Not only did he run 20 half marathons for our 20th anniversary year, he also ran a dizzying marathon in his back garden in the first lockdown!
Geri Griffin, Double Impact Employee No.3
Hi there, everyone! Double Impact employee no. 3, Geri Griffin, here. I started as Admin. Worker, then later trained to become a Support Worker. Who wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to work in a place that was devoted to personal development? That was the company business! And it still is. At Double Impact I learned that it’s always worth looking for the next good step you can take, and that there is no better teacher than someone who has been to their skeleton and back. I just hope I was able to give to some people a small fraction of what they gave to me. Keep on keeping on, everyone! And Happy 25th Birthday, D.I.!
Dr Ira Unell, Chair of Double Impact Trustees
"Congratulations to Double Impact on your 25th anniversary and your continuing commitment to recovery and reintegration. Through hard work and dedication, you’ve built lasting, meaningful partnerships with other service providers leading the way to much better services. Your creative response to every new challenge has been appreciated by service users,their families and the community. Keep up the great work."
David Probert, Director of Crocodile House Ltd
"Myself and Toby of Crocodile House have had the pleasure of supporting Double Impact for many years now, providing video, design and photography to help develop and promote their amazing work in drug and alcohol recovery. We were honoured to receive a Double Impact Spirit of Recovery Award in 2016 but the real highlight is getting to meet and work with the incredible staff and service users who together are making a growing positive impact on so many people’s lives.
Happy birthday, congratulations and long may you continue."
Skills and Education Group
Double Impact is a fantastic organisation that has been making a positive impact for 25 years. It has been a privilege for the Skills and Education Group to work with them and provide support along the way.
We have done some great work together, which has contributed to our shared goal of promoting education and skills development. Double Impact deliver our progression qualifications and were part of the pilot for our workers’ rights qualification. They are also valued Bronze members of the Group.
We look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come. Congratulations to Double Impact on this milestone anniversary!
200 Degrees Coffee
200 Degrees Coffee are everyone’s favourite coffee supplier and as a local expert in the café/ hospitality trade, they have supported the charity to successfully run its social enterprise, Café Sobar, through sharing their invaluable professional expertise over the years. Thanks so much guys for your generosity!
The National Lottery Community Fund
For the past ten years, the National Lottery Community Fund, through players of the National Lottery, have provided an unmatched level of grant support to several of our projects and services in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Boston, Lincolnshire. We and our service users are extremely grateful for your ongoing support.
Catherine Gray – bestselling author of ‘The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober’
Catherine’s bestselling ‘Quit Lit’ memoir has inspired countless people to start their own sobriety journey and her support of our work means so much!
Professor David Best, leading academic in the field of Addiction Recovery
Professor David Best has taken a close interest in our work for many years and has written extensively about our services:
Double Impact…has had a profound impact on my thinking about recovery support delivery. It has created a ‘hub and spoke’ model of visible recovery through a commitment to community engagement underpinned by a specific focus on education. What is particularly important for me about this model is how the organisation has engaged with multiple levels of community capital to build social and recovery capital…people who have limited access to social support can through Double Impact as an organisation, and through its peer mentors on a more personal level, have access to a diverse range of positive resources to support recovery pathways and that can contribute to the growth of hope and empowerment, as well as the practical supports they will need to support their recovery journeys.
Carol Crowe (Posthumous) – Long-time supporter and creator of the Double Impact arts programmes
Double Impact would like to posthumously thank Carol Crowe for her support of Double Impact, especially her huge contribution to the successful arts programmes which ran between 2004 and 2010.
Chris Smellie – Smellie Savage IT
"Huge congratulations on your 25th Birthday! The culture and commitment of their leadership and team have made it a pleasure to support Double Impact’s IT for nearly 20 years. It has been fun and a privilege to support some of the fundraising events along the way, particularly golf related!"
Jess Barnett – Director – TTK Confectionery & Trustee
"Happy 25th Birthday Double Impact – we are so proud to support you as a local charity partner. Having spent time with your team we recognise the vital work that you do helping to restore the dignity and self-esteem of your service users. It is mind-blowing to think of the number of people’s lives you will have impacted in that twenty-five-year period. All that time you have stayed true to the original aims of your founder. Long may you continue being that point of support for anyone on their recovery journey."
Anna Knowles – Employee no. 2
Congratulations to Double Impact, its staff, volunteers and supporter for reaching 25 years of helping, guiding and supporting the drug and alcohol recovering community in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
I had the pleasure and privilege of working for Double Impact between 2001 and 2014.
Watching the power and magic of people’s strength in early recovery, mix with the opportunity of being able to socialise in a likeminded community never failed to amaze me. I have seen many a “written off case” find a solution among this environment and go on to lead a meaningful existence. For some who had lost all hope, I firmly believe without this type of intervention, their futures would not have been so bright.
The hard work behind the scenes of the management structure and board has to be recognised. Being able to maintain a formula and strategy for survival over the past years that has enable these services to continue is no mean feat.
I can remember joining the firm in 2001, still in its infancy. Graham Miller had been in post for about 18 months. I remember I started on an 18 month contract, I had no idea that I would remain there for 13 years.
Double Impact was an inspired idea by Tony Herbert, and a testament to his vision that the service is still a valid idea to this day. I know it was Graham Miller’s leadership and resilience that made it all happen.
Well done to one and all, may this service continue to support those who need and benefit from it. Here’s to the next 25 years !
The Nottingham Building Society
Café Sobar, our social enterprise, probably wouldn’t exist, and certainly not in its current glorious form, were it not for the support of The Nottingham. Through their building on Friar Lane, which was a former branch of the society, The Nottingham continues to provide a home for not only Café Sobar, but also our Head Office and several other charitable projects, at a very generously discounted rent. A fantastic example of community-minded ‘Business For Good’!
Treat Kitchen
This multi-award winning, locally-owned food gifting company has supported our efforts in so many ways over the years – raising money through running in the Robin Hood half-marathon, donating their Black Friday profits, even creating a sweet for us, to name but a few! – but perhaps most importantly, employing many of our service users in their business as paid and voluntary members of staff – we’re so grateful for this priceless support of believing in recovering people and leading the way for other employers to smash the stigma surrounding addiction.
Mitch Winehouse – The Amy Winehouse Foundation
Our partnership work with the AWF on our impactful Schools Project over the years made a big difference to young people ’s awareness around the issues of alcohol and drug use. We also have great memories of Mitch and his band performing live at our second Recovery Ball!
Fi Bunniss
Fi, long-serving staff member and Recovery Links Nottinghamshire project manager, is also a dedicated fundraiser! She raised an incredible £1515.50 by cycling an incredible 100 miles on our behalf. Thanks Fi!
Molly Barton – Digital Comms & Fundraising Apprentice
Molly’s first experience of supporting us was in 2014, when she undertook an incredible fundraising effort of a 12-hour sing-a-thon in Café Sobar, at the tender age of 10!
Richard Atkinson – (Posthumous) Member of staff and fundraiser
As well as organising many memorable and successful fundraising events for Double Impact during his time as Fundraising Coordinator, including two Recovery Balls, Richard also scaled Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the charity.
Will Wakefield, Trustee and Treasurer of Double Impact
In 1997 through Common Purpose, the late Tony Herbert shared a substance misuse recovery vision. As the then CEO of the YMCA in Nottingham we had valuable bed spaces to offer the Tony’s visionary plan. By also involving Dave Barton of People’s College and him helping to secure £30k of European funding, in 1998 Double Impact became a reality.
Common Purpose had taught us that partnerships work if no one minds who gets the credit. The YMCA offered not only bed spaces to recoverees, but also the admin and infrastructure needed for a newly formed charity. I am grateful to the YMCA for having been in the right place and the right time to engage with Tony.
The impact of Tony Herbert’s vision to the East Midlands has been colossal.
Nottingham City Business Club
Double Impact was Nottingham City Business Club’s Charity of the Year in 2018 and it is a relationship that has continued with many members continuing to support.
From those humble beginnings in 1998 you have achieved so much and supported so many.
We commend you Double Impact for all your amazing hardwork!
Wishing you a very happy 25th birthday.
Radiant Cleaners
We at Double Impact have established a great working relationship with Radiant Cleaners. They have continued and do continue to support us and everything we do as an organisation in many ways. Enabling us with amazing employment opportunities which have led some life changing experiences. Thank you for everything you do!
Andrew Redfern, CEO of Framework Housing Association
I want to wish everyone at Double Impact a very Happy 25th Birthday.
DI is everything a good charity should be: Efficient, entrepreneurial, passionate and, above all, it puts its service users at the heart of everything. You are a very special partner for Framework and we love working with you. Long may Double Impact continue to thrive. Here’s to the next twenty five years!
In the meantime, every good wish to you all, and enjoy the day.
Jan Hempsall – Walking For Jamie
Jan recently completed an 820km (509 mile) walk along the renowned Camino de Santiago trail in Spain, in memory of her lovely husband, Jamie, who sadly passed away on 16th October 2020.
She smashed her fundraising target for us and also raised money for another charity close to her heart, Plum Village UK. Jan has committed to funding Mindfulness courses for our beneficiaries,
as this is an evidence-based way to support early and ongoing recovery. Thank you, Jan! You can still donate here:
https://justgiving.com/team/walkingforjamie