Wolverhampton's Light House cinema in urgent business appeal
The Light House is reaching out to businesses to help stop the curtain coming down on the cinema after nearly 30 years in the city.
The charity remains in a fight for survival and has now launched a new fundraising initiative called The Magnificents – named after the classic Western film The Magnificent Seven.
It calls on businesses to join the fight by offering a range of support, from £5,000 to £25,000, across one to three year periods.
In return, the partners receive benefits including screen advertising, discounts and early bird access to events.
It was revealed for the first time last summer how The Light House, a registered charity based in the historic Chubb Buildings since 1991, is facing an uncertain future.
It features an independent cinema, cafe bar and galleries.
But it has been struggling ever since it lost a council subsidy worth £73,000.
Since its fundraising appeal last year it has raised enough to stay open for the time being but the battle goes on says chief executive Kelly Jeffs.
She said: “People say ‘set a target’ but it’s a case we need ongoing income as part of the operational costs. We’ve made lots of cuts and we still need help and that help, we think, could be provided by local businesses.
“We have a two-screen cinema with a projectionist – we have to make sure the cuts don’t compromise the service.”
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The cinema costs roughly £1,600 per day to run.
And Kelly added: “We’ve really got to ramp up our fundraising to the next level now, and we’re hopeful that the Magnificent partner packages we offer will be enticing to local businesses looking for a good cause to support.
"You wouldn’t just be supporting Light House, you’d be enabling us to keep supporting our regular groups, which are a lifeline to many.”
The Light House relies on donations as well as ticket sales in order to keep itself running.
For more information about sponsorship, call Jas Kapur or Kelly Jeffs on 01902 716055 or email jaskapur@light-house.co.uk or kelly@light-house.co.uk
