Just like most people we felt like we were breezing our way through 2020 with so many things planned and projects in the pipe line. As the news intensified and the situation became worse it was all then very clear that we weren’t going to be able to continue as had planned.
Coronavirus has impacted everyone, every community and each family. We’ve seen the effects from all angles and most of those weren’t pretty. As a community hub, our main focus is people. Having to close the doors to people was heart breaking. Our usually bustling centre, overnight became a shell. It was missing the chatter, the cups of tea, the workshops and activities that we had spent so long planning for.
As much as we could – we took our activities online and we created our Grab Bag project. Both of these gave us a way of reaching out into the community and retaining some contact with those people who we were used to seeing weekly. Whilst the Grab Bags allowed us to see some of the faces that we were missing, we knew that we were only reaching a percentage of the people that we would usually be supporting. Our online presence was via social media only and we’re fully aware that although lots of people love social media, many of the people who used to visit the centre weren’t avid users.
The funding that we have received from Comic Relief was specifically given for us to be able to create our own website, somewhere that’s just ours and that can be accessed without the need for Facebook. A place where we can share content that helps and supports all our current users and reaches new ones. A home for our good news stories, photos, projects and a place where you can reach us when you need us most. We worked closely with local designer Paul Jamie Kidd to come up with a site that showcased what we do best and to give you a space to interact with. He’d previously rebranded the centre for us and he understands what it is that we stand for as a community hub. We offer quality, to our community and beyond and we do it for free as much as we can. We fetch activity and providers to the Heneage ward that hasn’t previously been available and we’re proud to support local businesses and artists within this. We’re super chuffed with the end result and we hope that it makes it easier for you to know what’s going on with us, here in the heart of the Heneage ward.
