A number of ‘hands-on’ groups meet at the Community Hub on a regular basis bringing residents together
When? late 2021 – 2024 and ongoing
The Community Hub at 82 Grimsby Road is there for the community to use. Whilst we do encourage people to simply ‘rent’ space and our rooms, we’ve also been proactive in getting groups started that can meet – either in our main office space or in our purpose built arts and crafts workshop (aka the Red Shed).
But whilst we have kick started these initiatives, all of the momentum to get groups off the ground has been down to the residents themselves who have an interest in coming together.
The Big Local North Cleethorpes team have worked with VANEL and often used startup funding from various sources to get a group off the ground. We may make a suggestion as to a group, but each one is led by members of the group who want to do it for themselves. We just help them along the way.
Before the Red Shed was even built, we had a small client support group that met at 82 Grimsby Road and was putting together radio plays together. Members of that group started suggesting other ideas for things to do. Members introduced other members. The Red shed was built and some equipment provided. And after that ideas for groups kept starting and developing.
The groups have grown, changed and evolved. More members have joined and started fringe groups. Members have come along and made the space in the Red Shed their own. Big Local North Cleethorpes has invested small amounts of funding to help provide more facilities in the shed. VANEL has sought out funding to help with storage, equipment and more to support the groups and they have continued to evolve.
The Groups…
At the conclusion of Big Local North Cleethorpes at the end of 2024 the following groups were active at 82 Grimsby Road and are continuing to meet.
Ancestry Group
Craft Group
Art Group
Model Making Group
(More below about each group)
Some thoughts from group members:
A nice place to be everyone is friendly, it’s a lovely afternoon
A safe place and we support each other, & have a good laugh
More social connections
Alongside the regular groups, 82 Grimsby Road plays host to a monthly series of social events (see more here). And members of the various groups are also active in helping run some of these sessions.
Ancestry Group
A member of staff was a keen amateur genealogist and a number of visitors to 82 Grimsby Road expressed interest in researching their family history, so in 2022 the “Ancestry Group” was formed.
Computers were provided by Big Local and a small Re-Shape grant allowed research site licences to be purchased. A few people joined and started their research, using the licences and helping each other. Three years later over 20 people have been involved with the group at different times and some of those original members are still around.
The group expanded from just a couple of hours to now a whole afternoon. At times up to 8 people can be attending – both working on their own research, but socially connecting with the others to share ideas.
A group that arose from a slight bit of interest has managed to keep sustaining and running into 2025 and hopefully way beyond. Running costs are low but there is a need to renew the research site licences, so finding funding for this is the key to longer term sustainability.
Members of the group get a great sense of satisfaction on working on what can be a very private research approach normally, but here is done in a social setting.
The Craft Group
Our crafts group was one of our first groups as soon as the Red Shed was ‘open for business’. The group has met weekly for pretty much all the time since 2021. Some weeks there might only be a couple of ladies meeting, but there have been over a dozen ladies involved – many very regularly – over the past few years.
The group has no ‘leader’ and they have no ‘agenda’ to do anything in particular.
They are involved with knitting, embroidery, patchwork, crochet, toy making, glass painting, making fairy gardens, gem art work, scrapbooking and bottle flowers.
They sometimes make things to order for community causes – including making hedgehogs for a local charity and Rosie and Jim dolls for a canal project.
The Red Shed provides their storage facilities and over the years equipment has been provided or purchased including sewing machines.
The ladies started as strangers but the social connection is a key part of their group. They communicate on their own WhatsApp group; sometimes meet socially; and have done a variety of projects together. Early in 2025 several of the ladies all took a week’s holiday together up to Scotland.
The crafts are enjoyable for them, but it’s the meeting and connecting that is just as important. It seems to be mostly ladies in the craft group, but there is a connection too with the chaps in the model making and arts groups! Everyone supports other events that take place at the Community Hub and everyone is part of a big team. Some of the ladies have even supported the VANEL team when out at Environmental events or other family activities.
The group is continuing strongly into 2025.
Model Making Group
The model making group is the gents equivalent of the ladies craft group. Again the gents have met weekly (several times a week often) since around 2021.
Around eight chaps meet and they just do the things they want to do. Including; Model making & painting; Airbrushing; Gaming; Sketching & oil painting; Matchstick modelling; Model car building; Whittling & wood carving; Mending fishing rods; Wand making; shabby chic upcycling; playing board games and writing.
A ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ gaming group seems to have evolved. And a 3d printer is in the Red Shed so a variety of projects get things created through that.
The group again socialise and there is plenty of fun, regular quizzes and more.
The group engages with other activities at 82 Grimsby Road and always welcome new members.
Gaming Group
This ‘dungeons and dragons’ gaming group arose from an interest from the craft chaps and is still going strong.
Camerados – a “public living room”
A very different type of group gathering started December 2024. Camerados is an international initiative to just get people to connect and talk and meet with no agenda.
VANEL applied to start a Camerados group up in the Red Shed at 82 Grimsby Road and the first session in the new “public living room” was December 2024. The group will meet monthly into 2025 and beyond hopefully.
There’s no agenda and the group runs itself. It’s a way to connect people; perhaps help tackle loneliness or mental health and wellbeing; ties in with our WarmSpace concept over the winter and hopefully connects a few more people with our community space and each other.
For the latest on current activities at the community hub, visit the current Big Local website at www.biglocalnorthcleethorpes.org.uk or contact the team at VANEL.