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Village Halls Week 2022: Innovating for the future (24 – 30th January 2022)

Village Halls Week is a national celebration of village halls and community buildings, their volunteers, and the services they offer in their communities. It is an opportunity for hall management committees to celebrate their work and get inspiration from others.

The 2022 campaign, led by our national partner charity ACRE, will put a spotlight on how village halls can play a leading role in shaping a better future. During the week, halls will be encouraged to pledge to do something different – whether that be extending their offer to their community, reducing their impact on the environment, or becoming more financially sustainable.

Here at Community Impact Bucks – your local ACRE Network member – we can provide you with a marketing pack. If you would like to receive one, please email frankie@communityimpactbucks.org.uk

How to get involved in Village Halls Week 2022

There are several online activities that you can join in with through the week.  Details of activities being organised by ACRE can be found on ACRE’s website, and we, as the Rural Community Council for Buckinghamshire, will be running a couple of events online for our Community Building subscribers. With each day having a different theme, here is a round-up of the week:

Monday 24th January: Do something different #DoDifferent

Village halls are survivors because they’ve adapted to meet the needs of rural communities over the past 100 years. To be fit for the future, halls must continue to innovate and try new things. The week gives village halls the opportunity to tell the local community what they are doing differently and encouraging others to do the same.

What’s on in Bucks 

To start off the celebrations, we would like to invite our community building subscribers to join Community Impact Bucks for our virtual meeting on Monday 24th January at 1:30pm.   This is a FREE event and is your opportunity to discuss and share information on everything related to community buildings with other management committees in Bucks  If you would like to join us, visit Eventbrite to reserve your place.

Get Involved 

Look out for inspiration during the week as part of #VillageHallsWeek and download the #WePledge card to commit to doing something different this week.

Tuesday 25th January: Something for everyone #ForEveryone

Every community is different, and different people are interested in different things.

Get Involved

What does your village hall offer your community? Do you provide a venue for different groups, activities, and events? Let us know what you provide – from fitness activities to shops, pubs, entertainment, schools and wi-fi hubs – and your plans for 2022 so that we can help spread the word within our Buckinghamshire Communities.  Share what you are doing with the hashtag #ForEveryone. Don’t forget to tag Community Impact Bucks so we can share your stories .

Wednesday 26th January: Celebrating and supporting the arts #RuralTouring

Village halls make fantastic venues for arts and cultural activities. Rural Touring is a great way of attracting talent and could open opportunities for hosting live music, plays, stand-up comedy and more. Find out more about Rural Touring on the National Rural Touring Forum.

Get Involved 

Got ideas for hosting the arts at your village hall? Does your hall serve as a venue for local talent? Share the #WePledge card, say what you want to do followed by the hashtag #RuralTouring. Don’t forget to tag Community Impact Bucks so we can share your stories .

Thursday 27th January: Beacons of hope for a more sustainable future #Netzero

The world is facing unprecedented environmental challenges. The future is bleak for future generations unless action is taken now. If every local community makes even a small change the world will be a better, more sustainable place. Village halls can lead the way.

What’s on in Bucks 

On Thursday 27th January (1pm) we are hosting an online event for anyone who is keen to volunteer their time to help develop their community’s resilience to emergencies such as flooding, snow, other severe weather events or utilities failures.

This is your opportunity to learn about what community resilience means, what it could look like, and find out about the support on offer through Community Impact Bucks, including training materials and guidance on developing an action plan.  If you would like to join us, visit Eventbrite to reserve your place.

Get Involved

We are keen to hear from pioneering halls – perhaps you have PV Panels, a vegetable garden, provide electric car charging points? Share your story with the hashtag #VillageHallsWeek. Don’t forget to tag Community Impact Bucks so we can share your stories.

Friday 28th January: Financial Resilience #Financial Resilience

As you know, village halls are small charities which are run by volunteers. However they are also financially independent and rely on revenues from hiring out space for community use. During the pandemic, halls have faced unprecedented financial challenges finding ways to become more financially resilient is key to their survival.

What’s on in Bucks 

We have been offered the possibility of hosting a webinar on Wifi Safety for village halls, delivered by the South East Cyber Resilience Centre. The webinar will cover how to ensure your wifi and broadband connection is secure and the event will take place over zoom at 10am on 28th January 2022 as part of Village Halls week.

Any halls that  are interested in attending this webinar should register their interest by email to frankie@communityimpactbucks.org.uk. Further information and a zoom link to the session will be sent to those halls who register their interest.

Get Involved 

What will you do to improve your hall’s financial resilience? Share the #WePledge card, say what you want to do followed by the hashtag #FinancialResilience. Don’t forget to tag Community Impact Bucks so we can share your stories.

Further information

To find out how Community Impact Bucks can support your village hall, go to our Community Buildings Service information and read about our national partner organisation ACRE here.

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