Village Halls Week is a national campaign, highlighting the contribution of England’s 10,000+ village halls to rural communities. It is an opportunity for hall management committees to celebrate their work and get inspiration from others. It's also an opportunity for YMCA Lincolnshire to celebrate the County's Village Halls, which we are proud to support as Lincolnshire's member of Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).

Village Halls Week (23-29 January) 2023 looked at how village halls can provide warm, welcoming and inclusive spaces; something which is especially important as the country faces a cost-of-living crisis.

During the week YMCA Lincolnshire visited an array of community buildings across rural Lincolnshire and got involved in a range of events, whilst promoting the importance of these establishments within their local community.

Visit  https://twitter.com/YMCALincs to learn more about Village Halls and what we got up to during the week!

Good Neighbour Schemes

Our Good Neighbour Scheme (GNS) empowers local people to work with their community to deliver services and activities within their area.

Recent work with GNS has seen us respond to a change in focus from practical errands and household support to a more holistic view with groups engaging in social activities, companionship and community support.

Over winter, we delivered Warm Packs to communities within our GNS network. We were able to support vulnerable families and individuals at a time when they most need it.

As of January, we are proud to support 22 organisations within our GNS network.

Age-Friendly Training

Our Age-friendly Awareness Training is designed to help businesses better understand and adapt their services to the needs of older people in their community.

After 8 successful pilot sessions across Lincolnshire last year, we have now delivered Age-friendly Awareness Training to UNISON members, Tonic Health Spalding and staff and volunteers at International Bomber Command with 100% of attendees saying that as a result of the training, they will make positive adaptions to their daily practices.

To date, we have delivered 12 Training sessions to 105 people from 42 different organisations across Lincolnshire.

Community Connections

Our Community Connections project has been is aimed at building relationships with key organisations and support bodies within Gainsborough and Wainfleet, to create positive changes in both locations. 

In Gainsborough, we have been part of an events committee and have helped set up activities in the severely deprived South West Ward, such as a Summer Sports event and Christmas event on Ashcroft Green. Ashcroft Green is the only green space available to the community; whilst working there we have re-planted all the flower beds, and installed raised vegetable beds in conjunction with the local primary school and volunteers from the X-Church drop-in centre. 

In Wainfleet, we have facilitated several “Rock Painting” activities throughout the year, in an effort to bring together families and young people.  We also have a thriving Facebook group, which is now looking to ‘formalise’, and seek fundraising opportunities to help bring more projects and activities to the Town.