Village Halls Week: 20-26 January 2020
It’s Village Halls Week! We’re joining in with the England-wide celebration of rural community spaces and the people whose time and dedication keep them going. Village Halls Week is organised by ACRE, our national partner charity. The week was launched on Monday at the House of Commons in London, with the kind support of Defra Minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble, who you can find out more about through this link.
As Lord Gardiner said, village halls and similar community buildings are ‘an essential part of rural life’, as quoted in this link. They play a key role in keeping our communities vibrant, providing a space for a huge range of activities, services, and events. They are places where everyone can meet – to socialise, learn, celebrate, be cared for, pursue a hobby…
Here are just a few examples from across Hampshire:
Click this link for Colden Common Community Centre
A thriving community centre, completed and opened in 1992. Two of the rooms have famous names; the main Gloucester Hall in honour of the Duchess of Gloucester (who opened the Centre), and the Moore Room in honour of astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (who made a large contribution to the fundraising efforts). The Centre is holding free table tennis sessions during Village Halls Week and is holding an Open Day on Saturday 25 January. Steve Brine MP will be dropping in, and a partnership will be announced with Winchester Bourne, a local financial services company.
Click this link for Ecchinswell Village Hall
A regular coffee morning, for which transport is provided, which attracts 20-30 people to the Hall each month. A wide range of community events, which bring people together and help raise funds for maintenance and upkeep of the Hall.
Click this link for Petersfield Community Centre
Hosts a variety of activities, including an upholstery group and the Phoenix Stitchers [photos in network folder]. Activities like this address the loneliness epidemic of our time, helping people to make new friends and to grow in confidence by learning a new skill.
Share what’s going on at your venue and link with us on social media by tagging Action Hampshire and including the #VillageHallsWeek
Throwback Thursday
On Thursday, why not join in with Throwback Thursday (#tbt) and share something from your hall’s past. You could post on social media about famous events or people that your building is linked with, or send out a newsletter with photos of what your hall used to look like. If you have a collection of old photographs or other historical documents, you could put them online!
Many community halls and centres are run on a completely voluntary basis by their charity trustees, with occasional help from other volunteers. Some are large enough to employ one or more paid staff, but these people will often give plenty of time voluntarily on top of their paid hours. So these buildings are a great example of community spirit and what can be achieved when people work together.
