The Orange

If you follow our website or social media you will notice that oranges pervade everything we do. Our logo is an orange, orange trees are dotted around our Day Centre and our branding is focused on this bright orange colour. Why is this?! Well back in 2006 we wanted to update our logo and we were just moving in to our premises on Orange Street. It was perfect as an orange and the orange tree symbolises so much of what we stand for and aim to achieve.

They are a simple but clean, fresh, fruitful and vibrant fruit. An orange is a recognisable symbol for vitamins and the need to prioritise the bodies nutrition, which is particularly important with street drinkers. Some of our visitors can develop serious health problems due to their long term alcoholism. This can lead not only to malnutrition but vitamin deficiencies such as Werniche-Korsakoff syndrome, which is a form of brain damage associated with alcohol misuse and the failure to absorb thiamine (vitamin B1). We provide our service users with access to free nutritious meals, fruit and hydration to help minimize this harm. We also encourage outdoor activities such as walks and gardening to increase health.

The orange is a simple fruit made up of multiple segments:- in the same way we believe that it is in working in partnership together with our stakeholders, service users, funders, staff, volunteers and the City of Sheffield that we can accomplish our mission of creating a place of stability for Sheffield’s vulnerable. We are never working alone here at Ben’s Centre. On Outreach our team is just one of several organisations that go out from early morning to evening to ensure no one is missed and anyone who needs support early in the morning, during the day or late at night can access it. Our Day Centre project workers are always liaising with services such as housing, recovery and health support to provide the best possible holistic package for our clients. This is a safe place and often our visitors feel most comfortable engaging with support services from our building rather than an office or clinic they don’t know.

The orange trees on our Day Centre walls represent all the people who have planted a seed at Ben’s Centre. We have been around for 25 years and we now have this wonderful premises at Wilkinson Street but it hasn’t always been plain sailing. We haven’t always had such wonderful facilities or the right building to operate from and our service was greatly affected during the pandemic. The orange trees represent what blossomed out of the seeds our supporters planted and are labelled with the names of supporters who generously sponsored us to get to Wilkinson Street.

You will now also see our vibrant logo down at 1 Rockingham Gate. We have brightened up our little corner of the Moor down at Ben’s Bazaar with vivid signage painted by the wonderful Information Hub manager Danny (who also painted our trees!). Check out the before and after below!

BEFORE AFTER