City Bloc is hoping to raise £8000 to fund a heating system after thieves left them out of pocket.
The centre, which is less than a mile from Leeds Dock, was burgled in the early hours on 20 August.
Thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused during the break-in and several essential items were stolen, such as fridges, gym equipment, and the coffee machine.
Source: CCTV. Permission given by Jenny Baker.With the harsh winter months fast approaching, City Bloc is looking to raise funds after a tough period following the raid.
Jenny Baker, manager at City Bloc, said: “I’ve found it incrementally stressful.
“The burglary has had a big knock-on effect on the operational side of the business.
“It’s taken a lot of time to generate funds, that’s the stressful side of things; the break-in has happened, but the knock-ons are just continuous, and that’s what’s been the most shocking.”
With the whole café being emptied and the coffee machine stolen, the centre experienced massive amounts of water damage and a lot of equipment was ruined.
Having to restore these areas, which are vital in the day-to-day running of the business, has been very difficult and expensive for City Bloc, which has also had a delay in receiving its insurance money.
This has led to a reliance on contingency funds, mainly the winter heating budget, which has caused a headache for management as the temperatures start to fall.
Jenny Baker continued: “Our centre gets really cold throughout winter, so we decided this was the year we were going to get heating in.
“We’ve had to dip into our heating budget and beyond, so the GoFundMe is aimed at getting the heating sorted.
“We’ve had the impact of the robbery and the losses from that, but if we go into another winter without heating, that further impacts our business.”
Whilst insurance money is coming in slowly, it doesn’t cover everything affected, most notably over 200 climbing shoes stolen during the raid.
This has caused huge issues for City Bloc, but they have been overwhelmed with support from members and other local businesses.
North Star Coffee, a local coffee roastery, provided a replacement coffee machine, members upgraded their passes to annual rather than monthly to boost income, and thousands of pounds have been donated to the fundraising page.
Ben Haigh, a member at City Bloc for the past eight years, said: “I met a lot of my friendship group at City Bloc, so it’s a big social thing for us.
“It gives me somewhere to socialise with my friends and keeps me busy in the evenings, and obviously, it’s good for my health and fitness.
“The social side is a big thing, but it’s also physical, mental, so it helps with everything really.”
Source: George Jenkins | All Rights ReservedThe fundraising currently holds just over £7200, meaning it’s achieved 90% of its goal in just two weeks.
For information on the police investigation and the GoFundMe page, please check the Instagram caption linked below.
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