What are we about
We are a local charity helping to inspire our community and make Middleton a better place to live, work and visit.
Our passion is… to inspire, to promote, and to participate. We believe that local people need to be involved in shaping their future, and many local folk have a great deal to contribute. We want to give opportunities and support for this to happen.
The focus of our work
Is inspiring people, places and organisations.
We are a local charity set up to promote community development. We do this by helping others to improve their lives and life situations, through encouragement and support to make the best of who they are.
This means that we inspire and encourage them to get involved and participate in making a difference for the benefit of the town and all who live in it.
At the same time we actively reach out to those in need and those who are not able to help themselves so that they too can be given a chance to play a fuller role in the community.
Call Us:
0161 643 1163
Email Us:
hello@inspiremiddleton.org.uk
These are some of the achievements that
your donations support
This is the number of visits to the Lighthouse Project since we opened in June 2010 to Oct 2024.
Currently circa 33,500 visitor attendances per year from 3000+ different people.
needed to provide food for 100+ families each week using the Lighthouse Pantry.
In 2024 we supported 4930 member visits from over 360 families with an additional 400 adults and children.
Tackling over £1million+ of personal debt through the Lighthouse Money Advice team. With over £390,000 of debt reductions or debt management, and over £466,600 of increased benefits or expenditure reduction.
Our Foodbank supplied over 1270 emergency food parcels during 2024 to just under 2,900 adults and children from over 700 families.
We gave away over 30 tonnes of food valued at circa £71,000 tackling food poverty.
Our story
how we work
-
the plant pot model
Inspire Middleton is a local development charity doing good in our community. Most people know us more by the things that we do rather than being being familiar with our name. There is a reason for this which we can explain.
Inspire Middleton is a nurturing and inspiring organisation which works differently to a lot of other organisations. We are responsible for many different projects and we describe the way we work as the ‘hands under’, or ‘ plant pot model’.
It’s simple to explain, instead of being an umbrella organisation which has ‘hands over’ controlling everything, offering protection but limiting growth, we operate with ‘hands under’, still offering support and protection but without limiting growth or opportunity to maximise each projects potential. When you look at it this way it makes everything about what we do that much clearer to understand.
Plant pots are used to plant seeds, that are then cared for and nurtured so that they grow. Once grown everyone is focused upon the fruit of your labours. Rarely do people say “oh what a wonderful plant pot that is”, no, they are more likely to comment on how beautiful the flowers are, and so it is with us. Inspire Middleton is the plant pot that supports all the many community projects we grow.
Our job is to inspire, to plant, to nurture, to encourage, and to build…community. We accept that people will know us more by the work of our hands than by seeing our name in flashing lights, but this is okay, this is what we intended.
We just want to ‘inspire Middleton’.

some of The projects we run
Click to find out more information

Lighthouse Project
Our drop-in style community hub open to all offering an array of support facilities and different activities based in Middleton Shopping Centre.

Middleton Central Foodbank
This is our Foodbank which is part of the national Trussell Trust network set up to help and supporting people living in food poverty or crisis.

Lighthouse Money Advice
This is our face-to-face debt advice service helping people struggling with personal debts - it is an appointment service.

Lighthouse Pantry
Our membership food club supporting local families and helping them to reduce their food bills to keep more money in the household for other costs.

You don't have to do things on your own
some of our latest news...from across our projects
Pension Credit – Free Drop-in Mon 11th Nov 24
Pension Credit – Free Drop-in Mon 11th Nov 24 In...
Read MoreYour Local Pantry – Social Impact report 2024
Your Local Pantry – Social Impact report 2024 ‘Places of...
Read MoreWe are grateful. Our situation has improved…
We are grateful. Our situation has improved… Just wanted to...
Read Morea few testimonials
Well done all the staff and volunteers – Cheers!






















