The charity’s objectives are

(a)  To provide a Christian response to the needs of the local people in Market Harborough and district for help, support and encouragement at times of crisis in their lives.  In this, the aim is to empower and help people make their own decisions in appropriate ways to enable them to satisfactorily come through those crises.

(b)   To train and equip Christians to be involved in Christian Counselling and enable Christians to utilise the gifts God has given them together with their past training and experience.
(c)   To work alongside the Churches in their caring ministries and with secular organisations that care for people.

• Our day-to-day operation is coordinated by Cara and Loraine.  They manage all aspects of the service and look after our team of volunteers which includes over 40 counsellors and 25 support workers.
• We are immensely proud of our team because of the commitment and passion that drives them to deliver a people-focused service which extends to both those we seek to help as well as those who deliver this help.  
• All our counsellors are professionally qualified or in training and give of their time freely.
• Our volunteer support workers are the first point of contact and the backbone of the Bower House.  They ensure that our house is consistently peaceful and welcoming.
• Cara and Loraine are supported by our Joint Working Party with whom they meet monthly. They also meets quarterly with our Governing Body who are representatives from the Harborough community, chaired by Linda
• All our collective work is underpinned by many church and community members, who give their support through much-needed prayer, fundraising and donations.

Download our constitution here.

History of the Bower House

The beginning of the Bower House

About twenty five years ago several local Christians separately had a vision – they felt the need for a Counselling service in Market Harborough.

At the time there was no building and no funding but through collective prayer, across all the churches in Harborough, the vision became a reality.

As this idea was talked about, this group worked and prayed together about what should be developed. “Churches together in Harborough” supported  and encouraged us.

The result was that in 1999 about a dozen people including 5 counsellors opened the doors of 32 Coventry Road for business.

It slowly grew and became known as a quality service offered to the people of the locality.

It has always felt to be God’s work and he has provided for us up to the present time. For a fuller account of our beginnings and how we were blessed with the property and the finance to run the service download the full story here

How is Bower House Funded?

It costs £51,000 every year to keep Bower House running.

We have a variety of income streams and these are shown below.  

• People make a financial commitment to the work of the Bower House by direct credit or standing order. These are Friends and this is a core source of income. Read more about the Friends below or download an information sheet here.

• Although our counsellors are volunteers and give their time for free; each counselling session costs the Bower House £25 to run. Clients are made aware the Bower House is a charity and are asked to make a contribution towards their session. However therapy is available irrespective of the ability to make a contribution.
• Churches make frequent donations to the charity, often as part of their gifting programme. In addition to churches; groups or organisations within churches also make gifts to the charity.
• Churches Together in Harborough frequently makes donations, sometimes from the united service collection or other services.
• Voluntary organisations occasionally make donations.
• We always apply for grants from the Summer Carnival, Late Night Shopping and the Rotary Swimarathon.
• We have had significant grant funding over many years from the Market Harborough & the Bowdens Charity.
• We run a programme of Fundraising Events throughout the year.  
• We also reclaim tax through the gift aid scheme.

Friends of the Bower House

Friends was started when Christine and Jadz (our first Service Co-ordinators) and the then Chair of Governors took advice from a company about how we could increase our fundraising.
It was suggested that because we had such goodwill from the town, we should harness it by starting the Friends scheme. The idea being to get a lot of people giving a little so that we had a known income.
Since that start we have now grown to having 35 Friends who make a hugely valuable contribution to the running of Bower House. Our Friends are drawn from a variety of different sources:-

• Some are local church people  
• Some have been through counselling themselves and realise our need of constant funding       
• Some used to, or currently, volunteer with us.

Friends of the Bower House receive invitations to social functions including the A.G.M.  In addition they receive new updates of the work at the Bower House and how the service is developing.

Friends contribute in various ways:-  through monthly or annual Standing Orders or, occasionally, on an ad hoc basis by giving cash throughout the year.

We are constantly building our circle of Friends who give us such wonderful support.  Download a flyer which includes a form to complete if you would like to contribute in this way.