From Monday 23 to Sunday 29 January, we’re celebrating the impact of village and community halls across Hampshire. Together with our national partners ACRE, available via this link, and the other rural development charities that comprise the ACRE Network, we want to highlight the impact that community buildings have in our villages and small towns. Read on to see how you can get involved!
The trustees and staff that keep these community venues running play a key role in making Hampshire’s villages and towns great places to live. We want to celebrate this and help you with some fresh ideas. We’ll be on social media throughout Village Halls Week to tell our contacts about all the wonderful things you do, and we’re organising some events you can join in with.
How you can get involved
- Tell us about what’s happening at your hall or centre – contact us by email via this link and we’ll edit this post to mention what you’re up to
- Spread the word among your local contacts
- Hit social media if that’s your thing – connect with us (our social media links are here) and share the national Village Halls Week information available via this link
- Come along to our briefing events – see below!
Here’s what we are doing
- Tues 24 Jan, 1.30-3.00pm on Zoom: applying for grants – hints and tips
- Weds 25 Jan, 10.00-11.30am on Zoom: insurance for community halls with a rep from Norris and Fisher insurance brokers, available via this link.
Please email Kevin Sawers via this link for more info about the sessions and to book your place.
Remember – for these events, please email us to book your place or if you have any queries. We hope to see you at one (or both) of the sessions!
What’s happening across Hampshire
Everton Pavilion (near Lymington) Click this link for Everton Pavillion
The trustees are holding a pop-in session for local residents to see the Pavilion’s facilities, ask about hiring the venue, and find out what the committee are planning for the future.
Rowlands Castle Parish Hall (near Portsmouth) Click this link for Rowlands Castle Parish Hall
They recently hosted an event showcase the different activities, services, and community groups that take place in the Hall and the wider village. There was much positive feedback and many of the groups had new people sign up to join their sessions.
Selborne Village Hall (near Alton) Click this link for Selborne Village Hall
The Hall has recently been refurbished and the floor restored. They host a wide range of events, including children’s parties (maybe with a bouncy castle!), meetings and conferences, the monthly village lunch, and even the village panto – which this year was Peter Pan.
Oakhanger Village Hall (near Bordon) Click this link for Oakhanger Village Hall
They are also hosting drop-in sessions for people to view the facilities. The Hall has been recently extended and they look forward to inviting people in to show off their work and to show people what they can get when hiring the Hall.
Sandleheath Village Hall (near Fordingbridge) Click this link for Sandleheath Village Hall
This Hall was opened in July 2021 and is located in St. Aldhelm’s, a redundant church mission hall. The trustees have transformed the building into a beautiful, modern-day facility that has become a thriving centre for local events and activities. The Hall hosts a range of groups and events including monthly film nights, making good use of the high-quality audio-visual system.
More Village Halls Week content
Please also see our Village Halls Week news release and our Comms Assistant Jenny’s reflections on village halls being the heart of rural communities – she says, ‘If it didn’t happen at the village hall, it didn’t happen in our area’.
Link to our Village Halls Week press release
Link to Jenny’s blog on village halls
Connect with other hall trustees and managers
We’re busy all year round helping you to connect with others in the same role as you. Take a look at our main community buildings web page via this link to see what’s happening – scroll down to the ‘Networking and training’ section. Keep an eye out across our social media and website for more information and events!
If you help to run a Hampshire community building and are on our mailing list then you should have received a news bulletin directly from Kevin Sawers, our Community Buildings Officer. Please email Kevin if don’t get this additional email and would like to! Click this link to send Kevin an email.
