Back in January the Booth Centre homeless charity applied to the BBC’s Community Doorway programme for a team of volunteers to come and run a session with people who attend the centre to produce a short film demonstrating the work we do and showcasing our new centre, which was due to open in March. We were successful with our application and in April 2014 a team of volunteers came for the day and filmed an excellent little film which is now shown on the front page of our website.
Two of the stars of the video Margaret and Steve were invited to go to the BBC offices to record the narration for the video and were given a backstage insight to how the BBC works. They said:
“It was a great opportunity to be able to work with the BBC. We met some of their staff including Liz and Beckie who were really nice. They made us feel at ease and relaxed while filming and the end results were brilliant. Filming the video gave us the opportunity to share our stories and talk about how the Booth Centre has really helped me when times have been hard.
We were invited to attend the BBC studios to record the voice over for the film and were given a special tour of the building. We got to see where the morning news and Match of the Day are filmed. We had a cup of tea in the same seats that Gary Linker and Alan Shearer usually occupy. I was a bit gutted we didn’t get to meet Jeremy Kyle, but maybe another time. We got to see the special effects area and the Blue Peter garden, everyone was so welcoming and made us feel at home.
When we got down to work we had to record the narration for the short video we’d made. It was great to see how the narration really brought the film together and I felt really proud and being given the opportunity to do this.”
It was great fun and I really hope we can work with the BBC again in the future.
*The Community Doorway programme from BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility gives BBC staff an opportunity to work with various charities and community groups. Applications are particularly welcome from from organisations based in the neighbourhoods where a large number of our staff work - namely the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster, Salford and Greater Manchester - and those that work with 16-24 year olds and/or groups that are considered to be disadvantaged or socially excluded. The next application deadline is 31st October - you can find details and an application form here. The Booth Centre is a day centre offering activities, advice and to homeless people in Manchester. It provides education, training and advice to enable people to find new homes, improve their health, increase their skills and confidence and to successfully resettle in the community.
