Blackfen Community Hub

Aim

We are a warm and welcoming free space where everyone is welcome. A community hub, coffee house and library with lots of groups/activities.

Who are we?

We are a Community Hub at the centre of the community with a Community Coffee House and Library. 

We enable the community to come together facilitating everyday creativity and support. We provide employment, volunteering and training opportunities. We aim to engage, connect and transform those who come to our space.

The last year has been busy for us here. To prepare for the energy and cost of living crisis we registered with Warm Welcome as a warm space for people who are struggling to heat their homes to be signposted to.

Our Pay-It-Forward Board in our Community Coffee House has been well used by those in need. We offer free lunches for kids and a free drink for those in need. Others from the community can pay ahead for food or drink for others, placing a voucher on the board for someone to make a free purchase.

Community Impact

We partner with lots of local groups, charities and businesses to provide a safe place where the community can find connection and expression.  Our many groups and activities, alongside our Community Coffee House, enable us to offer support and friendship.

In 2022 we had a footfall of over 100,000 visitors with 12,481 attending our community events and 12,313 attending our groups. 

Since opening after the restrictions of the pandemic, we have gone from strength to strength growing a sense of community belonging in our Hub.

We have made great strides in building people’s pride of the area and High Street.

We have run 3 High Street wide events gathering people together around National celebrations such as Valentines, Easter and Christmas. This year in partnership with a local events charity and local groups and traders, we put Blackfen right at the heart of the community. Footfall for many traders saw their highest levels on our community days bringing life back into our High St.

This year, as always, we have invested time into strengthening the trust the local community has with us. This is resulting in co-designed services and activities for the community by the community.

We have continued to vary our offer of support in line with community needs. It has been great to re-launch our Book Buddies group which brings together the older generation to support the younger generation with their reading skills.

Through our many varied groups and activities, great enjoyment has been found as we have seen many find friendship with those different from themselves, their mental health has been improved and confidence increased. Whether first time parents, older people or teenagers after school - everyone is welcome in our hub and they leave feeling noticed and cared for.

At our ‘Community Have Your Say’ event people were able to share ideas and talk together about the Hub. There was a sense of excitement at the possibility of trying new ideas and learning new skills. There was also a sense of great appreciation for the space and opportunities they have here.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are crowdfunding with a target of £6,000 to help us to continue our support for the community, despite rising prices and energy bills. We want to provide more groups and activities but also keep costs to a minimum for those who are struggling, and keep our food and drink costs low, with free kids meals in the holidays. 

How we’ll spend the money raised

The money raised will enable us to continue to be a warm, safe space for the community and to continue to offer people a free welcome to groups, activities and events. With spiralling energy costs and bills we want to be able to keep our costs low and be sustainable for the long haul. This funding will enable us to continue to invest in lives and to help create community. We want people to feel welcome and leave known, to connect to their purpose, potential and other people by joining our groups, volunteering and being part of the community. We want to be more creative with our space and our attention to detail, being passionate about people and making good things happen in our Community Hub.

What difference could your money make?

• £1 will pay for a person to attend a group
• £5 will keep us open for an hour
• £15 will buy 3 new books
• £20 will pay for new toys
• £30 will buy a new chair 
• £50 will buy resources for 6 weeks for children's activities
• £100 will cover the electricity bill for 3 days
• £250 will buy a new desk
• £500 will cover the cost of a group for a year
• £1,000 will purchase a new public computer

This project successfully funded on 24th March 2023