A star-studded cast indeed on the evening of Tuesday 5^th December at G-Live in Guildford, hosted by Marcus Buckland, an award-winning sports presenter. 12 awards were given to Surrey County Council staff and volunteers and residents within Surrey in the second year of Stars in Surrey, with a growing number of nominations and awards, which included Community Hero Awards, the Greener Future Champion Award and Frontline Worker of the Year Award. Joanna Killian, Chief Executive of Surrey County Council said ‘ …these awards … are a wonderful opportunity for us all to stop and reflect upon some of the many amazing individuals, teams, workers, volunteers and residents in Surrey who go above and beyond in their daily lives to make a difference.’

The Hale Community Centre’s proud team were there as one of 38 shortlisted finalists out of hundreds of nominations for one or other of the awards. The Centre was selected for the ‘award for outstanding customer service’ – an award that ‘seeks to recognise those who care for their customers and ensure their needs are always met’. Also nominated for this award were HOPE, Guildford – a mutli-agency service for young people aged 11-18 – and Horley Library Services, with HOPE ending up as the winner.

 Along with enjoying a delicious meal, all were entertained by Fiaa Hamilton’s singing and Magician Ben Williams amazing magic tricks.

We've been shortlisted - Stars in Surrey 2023

Hale Community Centre are one of three finalists to be shortlisted for The Team Award for Outstanding Customer Service, to be announced at the Stars in Surrey Awards ceremony on Tuesday 5 December at G Live, Guildford, the second edition of this Surrey-wide recognition awards.  Congratulations to our amazing Team! 

Newsletter - November 23

The Spooky Pumpkin Cooking classes cooked up a storm. We were awarded funding from Hubbub to show people how to use their pumpkins as food and not just as Halloween decorations.

Coral lead 3 sessions for local families. Together they magicked up pumpkin soup and tasty cupcakes with Halloween sprinkles.  There was also fun spooky crafts for the children to make including mini pumpkins, spiders and a spooktacular lantern. All the families also received a cookbook with lots of other pumpkin recipes ready for the 31st.

Read the Event Press Release here

Newsletter - November 23

Thanks to incredibly generous funding from the Deputy Mayor’s Fund the youth team were able to take 12 young people (mostly from our ‘Senior Girlz Club’) on a fabulous day out at Thorpe Park. With mini buses kindly supplied by Frensham Heights we set off in the early (for teenagers!) hours of the morning to experience ‘Fright Night’. We screamed, we got scared, we queued for what seemed an eternity… But we had such an amazing day, young people were very grateful for the experience and it was great to see them come out of their comfort zones. It was also wonderful to be able to get away somewhere different for the day and we are extremely thankful that we were given this opportunity.

October Newsletter: Congratulations to our gardening volunteers on receiving this award. It is a real testament to all of the hard work and dedication of these amazing volunteers.

Their weekly commitment to making the garden a beautiful and thriving space is appreciated by all who visit.

Judith and John proudly received the 'It's Your Neighbourhood Award of Thriving - Level 4' on behalf of Hale Community Centre.

October Newsletter - Hale Youth Centre said a massive thank you to the Farnham Lions who kindly donated a £200 gift card to the Centre to buy art supplies.

As you can see the supplies were gratefully received.

Farnham Herald - week ending 27th July

Thank you Jeremy - our accountant - who has been busy this weekend taking new photos of the Centre!     

Residents of Sandy Hill first used a bungalow for community activities in 1998. Originally a caretaker’s residence, the building was converted and became a well-used community facility, contributing significantly to major improvements in the opportunities available to local residents and their quality of life. As usage of the building greatly increased a stage was reached where the old facilities were no longer adequate to meet growing needs.

As a result, First Wessex (now Vivid) worked with Surrey County Council and other partners to develop a brand-new facility, which in 2009 became a registered charity and company limited by guarantee with the name Sandy Hill Community Bungalow. In 2018 the name was changed to Hale Community Centre in recognition of the Centre working with and for all those living in Upper Hale.

Since its beginnings in 1998 the Centre has been a crucial component of, and hub for, many activities and improvements which have been developed by the involvement of residents and partners, and its wish to remain at the forefront of providing opportunities for all within Upper Hale and surrounding areas.

In June 2020, when the Centre initially reached its 10-year milestone, the Pandemic restrictions prevented any celebration. Today, thanks to award winning artist and long-term supporter of Hale Community Centre, Denise Jacques and members of the community, a new mosaic commemorative plaque in the shape of the Centre’s logo was unveiled by Norma Corkish, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and outgoing Centre Manager – Cathy Burroughs.

 June 2023

Completed by award winning artist and long-term supporter of Hale Community Centre, Denise Jacques and members of the Hale Community.

Norma Corkish, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Hale Community Centre, in Upper Hale is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Centre Manager – Melissa Salisbury. 

Melissa lived in Hale as a child and young adult and continues to live in the Farnham area. She has been involved with the local parish indirectly all her life and has a real understanding and love for the area.

The majority of Melissa’s experience has been in not-for-profit organisations ranging from Government Departments to Local Authority and Education. Whilst not sustained by activities with a commercial focus, the need to be accountable has always been there with such things as league tables and Ofsted reports or being held accountable by the local population.

Her experience working for the Youth Service and within Hampshire Scouting has given her a wide range of knowledge in safeguarding and safety issues within youth centred provision and she has also had first-hand experience of supporting young people in crisis.

In her new position as Centre Manager at Hale Community Centre, Melissa is hoping to be able to give back to the amazing community of North Farnham. The variety of projects that Hale Community Centre currently supports are all very much needed at this time, and she relishes the challenge of continuing these initiatives whilst responding to the needs of the local community.

June 2023

A Huge Thank You to all of our wonderful volunteers from the Staff and Trustees of Hale Community Centre

"We are so fortunate to have an amazing team of volunteers without whom we couldn't offer so many fantastic activities and support to our community. Thank you all so very much for your wonderful contributions." Cathy.

Farnham Herald - week ending 13th April.

Congratulations to the Chair of Hale Community Centre - Norma Corkish - on being one of seventeen individuals to receive 'Services to Farnham' awards, in recognition of their outstanding service to the community at a ceremony on Monday April the 3rd.

What is Seed to Plate?

● The overall aim of 'Seed to Plate' is to create an outdoor space at Hale Youth Centre where young people can learn to grow their own produce from seed, get involved in outdoor activities, be involved with landscaping and learn about the natural environment.

● The sessions will be delivered both as part of our current youth club sessions (evenings) but also offering the opportunity to attend with volunteers in the day time (particularly if someone is not currently in education, employment or training) and during school holidays when they will have the opportunity to help out with community volunteers.

● Young people will have the opportunity to learn how to cook what they have harvested in our accessible kitchen, making the produce part of a healthy, nutritious meal, and being able to take home any surplus to their families.

● We aim to encourage volunteers from all walks of life to help with both the gardening and cooking elements of the project. This will help us to create a cross-generational project where everyone in the community is learning about, and supporting each other in a kind and safe environment.

To find out more, click here...

The idea is for the space to become part social club, part meeting point…. And for it then to evolve organically to meet the needs and interests of local people.

It will provide the opportunity for people to gather in a safe,warm space and we plan for it to run on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, on the 1st and 3rd weekends of each month (pending funding).

People will be able to get a hot drink and snack, make use of the resources and equipment available including the outdoor space and be able to chat, or read the paper, listen to a podcast, have a game of pool or table tennis, garden, read the papers, play cards, cook…. Everything in the centre will be available for people to have a good range of things to do... to read more click here.

Use the Surrey Energy Advice Tool

The Surrey Energy Advice tool will provide residents with information on funding and grants, support and advice, and non-financial assistance, for people right across the spectrum to include those struggling with fuel poverty to those able to pay.   The tool will be part of a joined up multi-organisational comms campaign, which aims to reach as many residents as possible through SCC, D&Bs, charities, community groups etc to maximise uptake of available funding for decarbonisation measures whilst supporting as many vulnerable residents as possible.

It will help residents to determine what financial and non-financial support is available to them to support them.  It will allow SCC to provide advice to people who are suffering fuel poverty on things like how to put a freeze on debt or get a grant to pay it off, where to get fuel vouchers, where additional services like clothes banks are.

For residents at the ‘able-to-pay’ end of the spectrum it will provide advice on where they can take up schemes which provide economy of scale or match-funding etc, to help cut bills in the long term, whilst helping achieve Surrey’s decarbonisation targets.

For more information, see the Briefing Notes here. 

Farnham Herald - week ending 26th January...

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hale-youth-centre-every-little-helps

Co-op Warm Spaces Funding Boost is providing live match funding, so enabling Hale Community Centre, with your help, to ensure that our Community Pop-Up Café can continue hosting Warm Hub sessions through these times of high energy costs.

We are a "Not for Profit" organisation that provides a safe, welcoming, and inspiring space for the whole community. Our Pop-Up Community Cafe launched in April 2021 to run alongside and complement a newly acclaimed Community Fridge & Cupboard which opened the previous August to help those in need and minimise food waste.

Monies from this crowdfunder will enable us to continue to provide the special Wednesday Drop-in Sessions we host through our Pop-Up Community Café and help cover the increased costs of energy involved in running our twice weekly Warm Hubs sessions, where visitors are guaranteed a warm welcome including a hot drink and a delicious pay-what-you-can lunch.

Community Wednesday sessions offer a programme of engaging events for people of all ages in the community. From 11.30am to 1.30pm on Wednesdays, visitors can partake of a hot lunch, prepared by our volunteers in our own kitchen using the food we get donated to us by local supermarkets, which otherwise would be thrown away.

We also endeavour to provide space to chat or play a board game, get information, and help on benefits and bills etc in the Pop-In Space in the main hall. And there is also access to the Community Fridge & Cupboard between 12pm-1.30pm.

If the hustle and bustle isn't their cup of tea, they can take a moment to relax in our new Lounge area. Ideal for a moment of quiet, or if a safe space is needed to take some rest. For SEN we are also offer this area as a sensory space. 

CENTRE MANAGER

Are you looking for an exciting, interesting and challenging opportunity? Would you like to make a real difference to people’s lives?   Are outgoing and self- motivated?

Hale Community Centre, Upper Hale Road, Farnham is playing a unique role in its local community, with a Youth Centre, Community Cupboard and Fridge and much more. It is trail blazing and has grown immensely over the last few years, and is now looking for someone to take it into its next stage of its development.

The Centre Manager will play a key role in implementing the Centre’s business plan and income generation strategy, ensuring the organisation’s future and sustainability.

The successful applicant should be able to demonstrate success in community development and income generation and have strong communication skills along with a confident, positive and flexible approach.

Download a copy of the Job Description here

For further information and/or a chat, please contact: manager@halecommunitycentre.org.uk or 07471180958

Closing Date:    Monday 13^th February  

Interviews:  Week beginning Monday 20^th February