Pandemic-hit village hall committees invited to support meeting

The call comes from Shropshire Rural Communities Charity (RCC), which is hosting a free virtual coffee morning on Wednesday, August 11, for people who run village halls, offering a chance to reflect on the past year, share experiences and discuss any concerns they have.

Shropshire RCC provides advice and training to village halls through its membership scheme and has seen an increase in enquiries throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

Attendees will hear from Shropshire RCC’s Village Halls Advisor, Graham Betts about key areas he has helped halls with, and will also be able to ask questions and find out more about the service.

Shropshire RCC CEO Julia Baron will also be in attendance.

She said: “This has been an incredibly tough and difficult period for many of our cherished village halls and community buildings. And in many cases these halls are absolutely crucial to the communities they serve.

“We know that the pandemic meant long-term closures, resulting in the usual income streams for village halls being cut off. And not having a central hub for a whole host of events that would normally have taken place will have had quite an impact on the wellbeing of communities.

“Shropshire RCC is able to offer a huge range of advice and support and we want to showcase what’s available through a fun and friendly virtual coffee morning on Zoom. It will give us all a chance to chat about what’s really important to village halls and community buildings.

“We can help with grant funding, governance, recruiting volunteers and trustees, and much more besides, and we want to see all our village halls and community buildings thrive again.”

The virtual coffee morning is taking place at 11am on Wednesday, August 11, via Zoom and is free to attend.

For information and to book tickets visit https://vhcoffeemorning.eventbrite.co.uk