High Sheriff celebrates work of the Fernhurst Hub
by Ramy Salameh. The Fernhurst Hub was honoured to show off its community credentials to the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Dr. Timothy Fooks, who recently made a visit to the village.
One of the High Sheriff’s many roles champions community work and bringing people together, an ethos reflected at the Hub, which in more than two decades continues to sit at the very heart of the village.
The Hub is run by residents for residents with community and public service at the centre of all it does.
“I don’t know what we’d do without this place, my wife and I come nearly every day having moved to the village a few years ago and have made so many friends, it’s just wonderful,” said regular customer John Beddard.
Since opening as an Internet cafe in 2003, the Hub has evolved into a multi-purpose venue offering a comprehensive and varied annual programme of events, talks, clubs and initiatives serving all age groups and interests.
In recent years, the in-house team has worked hard to support the community via the Vicar's Surgery, a monthly Carers & Friends gathering, visits from the local Food Bank representative, as well as useful drop-in sessions from the neighbourhood Policing Team.
It is also a Centre of Learning and Education with more than 100 weekly language learners perfecting their French, Spanish and Italian to those mastering the Ukulele. The highly popular Bridge Club keeps the candle burning into the evening, as does a programme of talks with notable speakers including authors and adventurers.
Catering to a wide age demographic, the Hub reverberates to weekly music sessions for parents and toddlers or has a more relaxed approach with its Wellness Classes including Chair Yoga and Balance Classes for seniors.
A regular Reading Circle discusses the latest best sellers, whilst knitters natter every week, and others enjoy a dedicated board games afternoon. One of the highlights of the year is the annual Easter Egg Hunt which this year attracted over 180 children.
In between all these activities, there is still time to run a Repair Cafe twice a year and workshops to help people sell on Vinted, make jewellery or floral wreaths and maybe even sell these items during the Summer and Christmas Fayres. The Hub listens to feedback and ideas from the villagers to understand their needs and include them in future programmes.
On the day of Dr. Fooks' visit, the annual Open Call Art Exhibition was being framed on the Hub walls, whilst patrons sipped coffee and others browsed the compact retail concession of cards and gift items.
The Hub is always a hubbub of activity, which is only made possible through their amazing team of volunteers. This is why, in 2020, they were the proud recipients of the "Queens Award for Voluntary service".
“Strong communities keep us well both in mind and spirit,” said Dr Fooks, “and, for more than twenty years, the Fernhurst Hub has proven itself to be a fabulous focus for this great village. It has a wonderfully welcoming atmosphere that brings everyone together and the coffee is delicious. I am not at all surprised the Hub was a winner of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.”
"We were most grateful to Dr. Fooks for his visit and to show him just how important we are to the community and the community to us. We hope Dr. Fooks will drop by for coffee and cake again, or even to join one of our many activities. He will always find a warm welcome here," said Liz Rawlings Fernhurst Hub Manager.