The Belper North Mill Trust at Strutt’s North Mill The Belper North Mill Trust runs the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre and an accredited museum in ‘Strutt’s North Mill’ in Belper, part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site where, in the 18th century, the factory system was born, cotton spinning was revolutionised and building technology and the world of work changed forever. Once a part of the Strutt family’s extensive Belper mills complex and powered by the River Derwent, the North Mill (1804) was designed by William Strutt to be fire-resistant and is one of the earliest completely iron-framed mills in the world. Here using with the water-frame technology devised by his former partner, Richard Arkwright, Jedediah Strutt and his family helped to introduce mechanised cotton spinning to the Derwent Valley, an industry that formed the mainstay of Belper and the surrounding area for over 200 years. The Belper North Mill Trust’s mission is to protect and to promote the industrial heritage of the North Mill and of the Derwent Valley for the benefit of the public. With its volunteers the Trust works to share the story of the mills and the surrounding Strutt community, the world’s first ‘cotton town’ and of this part of the lovely River Derwent, in ‘the valley that changed the world’.
Established in 1974 by two St Albans residents, SADTN is committed to helping local blind and partially sighted residents keep in touch with what is going on in their local community. SADTN produces a weekly audio programme, containing news stories from the local papers (recorded by volunteer readers), longer articles from regional and national magazines (with permission of the publishers), monthly events and entertainment preview, audio book reviews, interviews, items about local natural and social history - and more! Each listener is provided on free loan with a playback unit (boombox) and receives a memory stick by post using the Royal Mail 'Articles for the Blind' free postal service. Almost 100 volunteers (readers, editors, sound engineers, copy teams, distribution secretaries) are able to provide this all-year-round service to around 110 listeners in all parts of the District (St Albans, Harpenden and all the surrounding villages). The most important message is: 'Do you know someone - family, friend or neighbour - who might enjoy this totally free service if only they knew it is available to them?' All the rest is on the website!
The mission of Rawson Saunders School is to develop the full potential of children with dyslexia through an extraordinary education experience.
Funds raised are used for PTO funded enrichment programs including Art, Music, Physical Education and Classroom/Teacher Support.