The Hive
Building more than just walls but building a real community
By Joy Fraser, The Hive
2022 overall was a good year for the Hive Community Centre, and its work continues to grow and develop.
Two projects that have impacted the community most are the Food Pantry and the Community Fridge. The Pantry supports 20 families who pay a minimal amount for two or three days' food, which is supplied by FareShare. The Community Fridge is all about reducing food waste and the food is available to anyone who can use it, to prevent it going to landfill.
Our rooms for hire are well used and host yoga, dance, wellbeing groups, art and craft groups, exercise classes, badminton and much more. The pre-school play-area and the cafe are very popular and our smaller rooms are being used for family support, meetings, a book club and more recently a new bereavement group, which has been well attended. The Post Office is busy especially over the Christmas period and the Community Library continues to be well used.
Earlier in the year, the main area of the Hive was decorated and we thank Richard Downing for his amazing work and the fact that he worked nights to cause as little disruption as possible. Over Christmas the kitchen floor was replaced and we continue to plan for further upgrades to the building.
It is rewarding when people tell us what a difference The Hive is making to the village and how much they appreciate what we are doing. We are so grateful to our volunteers who cover reception duties, help with the Honey Pot cafe on a Friday, the Food Pantry and the Community Fridge, and the grounds and gardens. If you want to join the volunteer team with the Hive or the Youth Work, go to our website www.thehivepsj.org and fill in a volunteer form.
