IONA COMMUNITY IN £500K APPEAL

The Iona Abbey

The Iona Community is inviting people around the world to secure the future of its centre and presence on Iona, by helping them raise £500,000 by the end of the year.

The Community welcomes around 1500 guests each year to its centre, and has played a significant role in the island’s economy. Years of heavy use have taken their toll and a recent survey of the residential facilities revealed that, without some urgent repairs and long-term major investment, they would be unit for purpose within seven years.

The Iona Abbey capital project will deliver improved access, new bedrooms and fully accessible shower rooms and toilets, improved insulation and washing facilities, and open up access to currently ‘private’ spaces in the Abbey.

The Rev Kathy Galloway, joint leader of the Community, said: “This complex, exciting project will ensure people from around the world can continue to share in the community’s life within the historic setting and beauty of Iona.

“The abbey accommodation is the vehicle that enables people of all walks of life to engage with the community on Iona. It provides the unique opportunity to both challenge and inspire thousands of people each year into becoming change makers within their own communities.

“Thanks to the generosity of our members, who raised £300,000 in the month of May alone, we are now in the position where we might be able to begin phase two earlier than expected. This will lead to substantial savings and mean we can open our doors in 2020.

“We have raised a magnificent £3 million to date. Another £500,000 is all we need to cross the line.”

To find out more, visit iona.org.uk/capital-appeal-information

This article appears in the September 2018 Issue of Life and Work

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