Village Halls Week 2020 is nearly here!
Village Halls Week, 20 to 26 January, is a national celebration of England’s village halls, organised by Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and supported by Defra.
We know village halls are the heart of rural communities; they bring people together, they provide a meeting space essential for tackling loneliness and they often provide vital services that rural communities would otherwise lose. They are run by dedicated volunteers that work tirelessly to keep them going. Therefore, we encourage you to support your local hall and we will share their good news stories.
Ways for you to get involved:
Share Your History
Thursday 23 January 2020
For anyone who hasn’t heard of Throw Back Thursday (#tbt), this is an online social media movement which people post to on a regular basis. It creates traction for peoples’ posts and helps them to be seen by more people.
Share your hall’s history on social media using the hashtag #tbt and #villagehallsweek. You could put up old pictures or past flyers, detail significant guests, share an old film or write an article on your history. We will be following the hashtags to share your stories.
For anyone without social media send them to Marcomms@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk.
National Open Day
Saturday 25 January 2020
Many halls are holding an open day on Saturday 25 January to invite the local community to come and see what goes on in their hall. It’s a good way to talk to people who might become volunteers, trustees or wish to use the hall in another way. You can also invite your MP or local Councillors.
Yorkshire’s Village Halls
As part of raising awareness for Village Halls Week here we are highlighting two interesting halls within Yorkshire.
Farndale Village Hall
Community First Yorkshire worked with Farndale Village Hall to help them become more accessible and provide more services for the community to help overcome some of the challenges of rural isolation. Read about it here.
Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall
Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall is different – possibly unique – in that it is shared between two communities on opposite sides of the River Swale, in different parishes, different boroughs (Hambleton and Harrogate), different county divisions and even different parliamentary constituencies.
Andrew Eckersely, Chairman, says “Topcliffe & Asenby village hall is a huge part of our community. It was built in 1961 and has been the hub of Topcliffe and Asenby villages ever since. It plays host to social gatherings, fitness classes, and more. Things just wouldn’t happen in Topcliffe and Asenby if we didn’t have our hall and our dedicated volunteers that keep it going. These divides [of physical and geographical boundaries] have not created any barriers between the two communities of Topcliffe and Asenby and that is why we’re coming together to celebrate the history of our hall and the vital service it provides to local people.”
As part of Village Halls Week they are hosting an open day on Saturday 25 January 10 am – 12pm with guest Kevin Hollinrake MP.
If you have something planned for village halls week or would like us to highlight your hall let us know.