WERNICK DONATE CABIN TO THE BIRCH THOMPSON MEMORIAL FUND

Charity with historic links to the Wernick family business receives accommodation. The Birch Thompson Memorial Fund focuses its efforts on creating a safe space where groups of young adults can appreciate North Wales’s scenery and enjoy outdoor activities. This charity honours Graham Birch and John Thompson, teachers who took young people on school journeys to the great outdoors. Birch and Thompson met when their schools merged to form Colton Hills Community School. Sadly, both men died of heart attacks in 1980. Recently, the charity renovated its Gelliwig Outdoor Residential Activities Centre. This centre is a self-catering accommodation situated in Porthmadog, North Wales. It reopened in June 2022 and has already accommodated groups from multiple schools and also asylum seekers. Schools from Wolverhampton, particularly Colton Hills Community School, are this centre’s main users. Private groups are also welcomed to hire the centre. Gelliwig Centre desperately needed a storage unit to replace their old steel garage, which was falling apart. Wernick Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Wernick kindly donated a Wernick Events cabin to the charity. This cabin now stores their washing machine, dryer, extra bedding and a fridge freezer. “I contacted Wernick asking if they would be willing to help as the charity has connections to the Wernick family history. We had an efficient and prompt response from Jonathan Wernick, who was happy to help us out. We are very grateful for the cabin donated by Wernick, it is a real bonus in our provisions. It is now called ‘The Wernick Building’ and is used as a storage and utility room”, commented Keith Berry, Chair of the Birch Thompson Memorial Fund. Jonathan Wernick’s grandfather Lionel Wernick and Lionel’s brother Joe both went to the Municipal Grammar School in Wolverhampton. John Thompson taught at the Municipal Grammar School from 1946, the same time Lionel was there. He also taught Mark Twynam, Managing Director of Benchmark Design Ltd who liaised with Jonathan Wernick over the donated cabin. In 1992, Lionel Wernick started the Wolverhampton Municipal Grammar School Old Pupils Association, bringing former students from the school together. Birch Thompson Memorial Fund holds a variety of charity events to keep the charity going, their most recent event saw Todd Miller and The Joe Loss Orchestra perform at the Wombourne Civic Centre. At this event, Keith Berry received a cheque for £4,000 from the Municipal Grammar School Old Pupil Association. Keith decided to call it the Lionel Legacy and went on to talk about ‘The Wernick Building’ Jonathan Wernick donated.

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