Solent MS Therapy Centre in Portsmouth transforms courtyard in honour of key member who dies suddenly last year
Transformation to help with community engagement and fundraising
A charity in Portsmouth has transformed a courtyard open to the public in honour of one of its trustees who died suddenly last year.
Sue Emery passed away in 2025 after nearly 20 years with Solent MS Therapy Centre on Hewett Road. After her friends and family left a donation to the charity, centre manager Ruth Jansen Brujo wanted to do something tangible with the generous donation.
With further help from the Screwfix Foundation and The Lord Mayor, the charity set about transforming its courtyard where its shop is set up.
Ruth said: “This project started because very sadly we lost one of our key member of the centre who was a volunteer and trustee here for nearly 20 years. We lost her very suddenly last year and she has left a big hole in the place. Sue Emery was very special to all of us and when she died her family and friends donated money to the centre.
“We wanted to do something tangible with it and we thought about something that Sue would have liked and that is where the seating area in the courtyard came from. We thought it would be a lovely thing to do in her name and since then the project grew and we ended up having the lovely summer house and the revamped the yard entirely. It all grew from having the seating area in Sue’s name.”
Sue’s husband was the guest of honour at the re-opening and cut the ribbon.
The space has become a vital part of the the charity which provides therapies and support to people living with Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological conditions.
Ruth said: “The area used to just be a drop off point and then after covid we started having a tabletop sale here. That grew and we had a gazebo up with stuff for sale and it became a little charity shop. At that point it was really lovely because people from the local community started coming in to have a look. We got to know people better and lots of our neighbours and passers by would come in to look at our sale.
“That was brilliant for us in terms of fundraising as we are a small self-funding charity but also it was so good for community engagement. We are not just shut off here in our own little world, people feel they can come in and lots of people discover that what we do can help them as well. As an MS centre people think you need to have MS to come here but actually the treatments can help people with so many different conditions.”
To celebrate, it held a grand re-opening with tea and cakes in the morning. Ruth was delighted with the response for the community.
She said “It’s been absolutely fantastic, people have been so enthusiastic, it’s such a transformation. It is nice that we have this lovely seating area now so that people can socialise and chat. We have had such a good turnout, I am absolutely thrilled.
”Thank you everyone for their involvement and hard work, it has been a fantastic community project, it has been a wonderful success”
Alongside funding from the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, the Screwfix Foundation and Sue Emery’s family, there was also a generous private donation from somone going by Coco.