Over Years of Dedicated Commitment to Care

Serve is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. Since 1981, it has been committed to assessing and addressing need and care in the community.

Through the vision of a few dedicated people, the seeds of the current organisation were sown. In 1981, as today, it was recognised that there was a need to supplement the essential care and health needs provided by the NHS and Social Services and that many older persons and people with disabilities required assistance, advice and companionship not readily available through traditional services. Funding was secured from both the NHS and Northamptonshire County Council and premises were acquired at Church Street, Rushden, which, although subsequently expanded, continues to be the Head Office.

Serve continued to grow through the eighties and nineties, adding services as they became identified and the first venture into Day Care came in 1995 when, with the help and support of Mr Peter Crisp, the premises in Church Street were extended.

This heralded the biggest growth period of Serve. It was recognised that Rushden was by no means unique in the need for its services, with the result that the operational area was extended to cover Higham Ferrers, Irchester, Irthlingborough and Raunds together with their outlying villages, along with villages in neighbouring North Bedfordshire - a total catchment area of around 55,000 people.

Since 1981, Serve has become a major provider of services with an annual turnover in excess of £800,000 and employing over 60 staff.

The SERVE Philosophy

At Serve we are proud of our strong links with Northamptonshire County Council and the NHS.

The strength of our organisation continues to lie in the ability to identify and respond to the needs of our clients. In reality, we do not just offer a standard set of services but aspire to fulfil needs as they occur. This philosophy extends to our Day Care where we structure each of our Centres to provide specialist care for people with memory loss and visual impairments, as well as the fit and active.

With over 130 volunteers, Serve is a significant player in the voluntary sector. The mix of paid workers and volunteer staff works exceedingly well. It enables us to respond to a diverse range of requests and provides us with a wide range of skills and experience. If there is a need we will endeavour to fill it and then make it available to others. The fulfilment of the needs of our clients, together with the help and care that we can provide is the ultimate yardstick by which we measure our own performance.