A VILLAGE hub in Clent forged out of tough Covid times when community-spirited villagers rallied to help each other has celebrated its first anniversary.
The Clent Connect Community Hub was launched in March 2023 at Clent Parish Hall in Church Avenue and since then it has gone from strength to strength.
The initiative, a community benefit society which elderly and isolated villagers have described as a lifeline, comprises a central meeting hub next to the parish hall with a café and a shop selling essential groceries, locally-made jams, chutneys and arts and crafts.
A 70-strong team of volunteers are now involved across the shop and the café, helping to deliver a newsletter and other roles including litter picking. The society even has a chauffeur who goes out and collects those needing transport so they can join in activities.
Boad member Bonnie Harvey said: “It’s been an amazing year since the Clent Connect Community shop first opened in March 2023 and the positive impact on the community continues to grow beyond all expectations.
“The anniversary was marked by a special celebration, with about 150 people coming along to connect with their friends and neighbours and enjoy refreshments including a special birthday cake.”
Paul Timmins of Clent History Society shared a display of pictures of shops through the years in the village which used to boast more than 20 outlets. Today there is just the Clent Connect community shop.
A new ‘happy to chat’ bench was also unveiled outside the Clent Connect shop.
Bonnie said feedback from people in the village about Clent Connect has been “amazing” and she added: “We are extremely proud that Clent Connect now enables more than 1,000 face to face social interactions every month – thereby helping to reduce isolation and loneliness, which is one of the main reasons why this Community Benefit Society was originally set up post Covid.
“It really seems to have made a difference to people’s lives.”
The hub is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to 5pm, and Saturdays from 10am to 1pm.
The extended café in the hall is open on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and serves up an array of homemade treats, teas and coffee, with everyone welcome to sit and chat with friends and neighbours.
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