Sir James Duddridge KCMG, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, was delighted to visit Mecca Bingo Southend and meet with staff and customers.
Mecca Bingo Southend celebrated its 30th birthday last year, and Assistant Manager, Sammi and Team Member, Kilonnie described to Sir James the wonderful community spirit which exists there and how this had continued at the height of Covid by the team keeping the link through phone calls with older members. Their oldest being 103, and unable to travel, but still receiving regular calls from them.
This spirit also extends to team members through Kallonie’s vision and hard work, turning an unused room into a mental health room, which enables them to withdraw into a quiet space whenever needed.
Although mid-afternoon, there were a number of members enjoying the game and Sammi explained that a typical evening could be 200 – 350 people, with grandparents coming with their 18-year-old grandchildren!
Following his visit Sir James said:
“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Mecca Bingo Southend to celebrate National Bingo Day with them and learn more about the club’s work in the local community. It is great to see the bingo industry raising money for Variety in their special games – raising £1.7 Million so far”
