At Action Hampshire we often hear about the amazing work happening in our community centres and village halls but it’s not until we see one in action that we can truly appreciate their impact.
Recently, I was shown a perfect example of a thriving community hub. Valley Park Community Centre in Chandlers Ford is a venue which has grown from strength to strength over the last few years. It’s nestled within a large housing estate next to a small shopping parade and a school.
I met with the engaging and effervescent Lucy Armstrong who has been involved with the centre for just over 2 years. She plays a pivotal role in making Valley Park Community Centre a lively, active and supportive hub for visitors and volunteers.
Receiving a warm reception
On my arrival there’s a queue of smiling ladies and gents all chatting and exchanging ‘hello’s’ and ‘how are you’s’ and ‘hasn’t the weather turned?’ in front of me. I smile at Lucy but am unable to introduce myself as she’s busy greeting each person and explaining that a regular here has kindly donated extra cakes this week as a ‘thank you’. 5 minutes later, I enter the building and sense a buzz in the air as people meet and greet their friends, chat to the kitchen team, and take their seats!
Dodging the Community Kettle crowd!
After Lucy quickly ushers me into a side room to avoid interruptions (everyone wants to chat her), she explains that I’ve just arrived at the start of the ever-popular Community Kettle, now in its second year. This is a weekly ‘coffee’ morning where visitors sit on communal tables and chat over their favourite hot drink. Once a month a speaker talks on a specific subject.
Keeping people connected, active and involved
Reducing social isolation is a key objective within the centre’s mission. The team strives to ‘unite the community and provide opportunities for people to come together’. The Community Kettle attracts the over 65’s but Lucy organises events targeted at different age groups too. There’s a ticketed ‘Fish and Chip Quiz Night’ which often sells out in less 48 hours and appeals to a much wider age group of 30- to 90-year-olds! There’s pamper parties for children facilitated by a local beauty salon, fitness classes run by a newly established instructor. There are litter picking groups attracting 30-60 people which she assures me are a quick win in terms of getting people through the doors for coffee, cake, and a natter. Who’d have thought that other people’s rubbish could glue a community together!
Through chatting with the centre’s visitors she’s been able to develop a programme which appeals to the local community. She organises Christmas and Summer Fayres and VE Day celebrations. She’s established digital connectivity workshops, craft clubs and is hoping to start a book club. After a discussion with a local runner, she introduced CPR and defibrillator training. Now 96 people have gained life-saving skills.
What’s makes a community centre shine?
I ask her what her secret is to a thriving community centre. She explains it’s about ‘being visible and making connections. If you make people feel welcome and talk to them, they’ll want to come back.’ Lucy knows her community well. She points towards the room where the Community Kettle is now in full swing and says ‘I could pretty much tell you something interesting about every single person in that room’.
Involving the business community
She’s also built relationships with local businesses who are keen to provide their services free of charge in return for advertising. As a result, many of the activities are delivered on a cost-neutral basis. The centre publishes a regular newsletter communicating the events programme and drops through the doors of the neighbouring housing estate. This offers the perfect opportunity for local business to communicate their function within the community.
Looking after a team of volunteers
The centre has a healthy pool of volunteers, all giving their time in diverse ways. Lucy is never short of a pair of hands.
Over the years she has noticed how people are more likely to volunteer if they’ve benefited personally from the centre. Many have come along to the Community Kettle as a guest and are now volunteers. ‘Having a positive experience makes people want to volunteer,’ she explains. After attending a Community Kettle event as visitors, her kitchen team signed up to volunteer for the following 8 weeks. 2 years later and they’re still here
Looking after the volunteers’ needs is important in terms of retention and ensuring well-being. She explains it’s purely down to the volunteer to determine how much or little of their time they’d like to give and there’s never any pressure to commit.
Sometimes, a volunteer’s physical ability influences the type of tasks they can do. Lynn, who I meet as the Community Kettle wraps up has mobility challenges but pulls together an impressive programme of speakers from her office at home. She tells me the role give her a new sense of purpose after a successful career in the salaried world. She’s confident using her digital skills and picking up the phone and enjoys the role immensely. Another volunteer, in his mid-80s is suitably agile and more than happy to set up tables and chairs for every event.
Understanding the tasks volunteers enjoy and those they’d rather avoid also makes for a happy team of volunteers. This is where connecting with people and understanding their personalities is key, Lucy explains. When I meet volunteers Peter, Tracey, and Catherine they joke that for some clearing up after a messy kids’ club is their worst nightmare whereas for others removing glue from a plug hole is more rewarding!
The focal point of the community
From my visit it is evident Valley Park Community Centre is the beating heart of the neighbourhood. It has it an active programme with sell-out events attended by young and old and a well curated choice of classes and interest groups shaped by the needs of the community.
But the clear ‘wow factor’ of the centre is its people. It has the support of a large network of dedicated individuals involved in many ways. These volunteers are the perfect advocates for the centre as they’ve experienced the benefits themselves and, guided by Lucy with her inclusive and enthusiastic personality, they are a formidable team.
Why not have a chat with Lucy when she hosts our Community Engagement session on Monday 17 March?
If you’d like support for your Village Hall or Community Building, please contact us. We run training and support sessions throughout the year but have developed a specific programme to tie in with Village Halls week on 17-23 March.
Follow this link to find out more and sign up for an event
Follow this link to find out how we can support your village hall or community centre
