A disability care centre that helps 300 people in the community is marking its 120 year anniversary.
The David Lewis centre in Alderley Edge first opened in 1904 to care for people with epilepsy and other complex needs.
The centre is named after the Liverpool entrepreneur and philanthropist who is best known for founding the Lewis’s department store chain.
The 200-acre (80 hectare) site was bought by his estate as part of his legacy and is now home to the centre which cares for 150 people living on site and an additional 150 who come for day care.
“We’re supporting more people every single day through our education services, our residential services, our day opportunities,” chief executive John Heritage said.
“We’re developing some really great partnerships with lots of local employers to offer work experience with a number of new funders, so the future looks really bright for the organisation.”
The Duchess of Edinburgh, who has been a patron of the centre since 2007, will officially open a new college building at the site as part of the celebrations.
Nichola Davies whose daughter Darcey spends time at the centre said she was “blown away” by the facilities there.
She said the care Darcey received at the centre was “second to none”.
“She might not communicate like we do, but she will communicate in her own way and they are so in tune with her,” she said.
Emily, who has autism and a rare form of epilepsy, lives in one of the houses for independent living and has an active role at the centre.
“She works in the cafe. She works in the shop, she distributes the post, she takes great delight texting me every day, what she’s done. She really loves the place,” her mum Paula Graham said.
“This place is a stable place. It just takes all of your worries away,” Emily’s dad David Graham added.
“The staff, they go above and beyond, they don’t just care for people, they give a quality of life.”
It costs £43m a year to run David Lewis, Mr Heritage says.
It employs 1,000 people and the recent changes to employer’s National Insurance contributions will add another million pounds to its annual costs.
But the centre has committed not just maintaining but trying to extend its services.
“We are a community at David Lewis but we are also part of the wider community and we want to do more to encourage people to come and see what we do,” Mr Heritage said.
“We want to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to come and benefit from what we do.”
