The Hive community centre in Victoria Park, Swinton, is looking for donations for refurbishment work needed on the property.
The centre, which is a key pillar in the local community, is raising funds so they can afford central heating which will be crucial for the various groups they run to continue running during the colder winter months.
These groups include free breakfasts for school kids and providing support for homelessness in the area.
One of the many volunteers at the Hive, Sonia Whittle, said central heating would make a big difference to the centre.
She said: “In the winter months it becomes extremely damp, its so cold you can see your breath.” “We want to keep the Hive open during the winter months because it is probably when people need us most.” With the centre offering free breakfasts to children, keeping the Hive open during the winter break is crucial for some kids who usually rely on school meals.”
The community is full of support for the centre: “Local residents are providing us with furniture and the local supermarkets are providing us with food the response from the community has been amazing.”
The centre has only recently reopened since closing in February 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sonia explained, with the hub relying on volunteers to help get the place running again as it suffered from damp and needed a deep clean. Not only are they raising funds for central heating, but they also want to decorate the Hub inside and out and make it somewhere people look forward to visiting.
The proposed look of the building is to represent the Hive, aptly named to show that they are the key part to the local community. The red poppies pay homage to the original reason the Hive was created and that was for armed forces veterans.
Another worker at the centre Joe Barnwell said: “We reach out to anyone who is social excluded, who doesn’t have a voice, and that can be for a million reasons.” The centre is a Hub for the charity CSIN, who offer free educational courses for the public in Salford. The Hub has an internet station and rentable iPad’s for anyone who doesn’t have access to the internet. “we provide education and training course, some of the ones we are run are living with PTSD, depression and a lot of other mental health-based courses.”
Joe is particularly passionate about helping with the homelessness crisis in Salford and recently experienced what it was like to sleep rough. Experiencing it first hand has re-affirmed to joe that he is doing the right thing by being committed to the Hive.
Hive is located near the entrance to Victoria Park in Swinton and if you would like to help out in an and if you would like to help out in any was possible to their efforts they have set up a just giving page which is available here.
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