Feature: A look inside Swindon Hub

By Jessica Durston - 26 January 2023

Community
  • An image of the outside of the Hub

    An image of the outside of the Hub

Swindon Link paid a visit to Swindon Hub and met with the team to learn more about the town centre-based community hotspot, and why its volunteers are so important.

(L-R) Windy (volunteer from Hong Kong), Pearl (shift lead) , Michael (local volunteer) and Johnson (a volunteer from Hong Kong)

Swindon Hub was set up back in 2021, by a group of local volunteers who wanted to create something for the community. 

It can be found within the Parade in the town centre - next door to Wilko (SN1 1BA), and is open Tuesday - Saturday from 10am - 5pm.

Last November saw the Hub celebrate its first birthday, and it has become a multi-purpose community space, that offers free activities and services to members of the public.

Its volunteer team range from individuals in their 20s to individuals in their 70s, and all of them come from different backgrounds - with two of the staff members originally coming from Hong Kong. The Hub team say they are still however in need of more help to keep the community space running.  

One of the long-standing shift leaders at the Hub, Pearl, spoke to Swindon Link about how the space grew from a small idea shared by a group of people, to the more thriving community space it is today. 

She said: "I signed up to volunteer the week it first opened. I saw things about a community hub space popping up on social media and wanted to get involved. Initially I think, there was the idea to create a climate emergency centre of sorts – but then over time the Hub gradually evolved into what it is today.

"It’s been like an evolution of different people from the community coming together and I suppose it’s like a really good social experiment in many ways. We have all been muddling along and it’s been great to have hit that one-year milestone recently, become bigger, and have regular things in place. People that come here on a weekly basis, are now coming for a specific reason.

"It has been amazing to see people giving their time up since the Hub's formation, helping to create what we have here now. It just goes to show that a lot of what we do, and what’s taken off, is obviously needed and valued by people within the community.”

The Hub has grown over time to accommodate different sectors within it's top and bottom floors. There is a community notice board and display space on entering, along with a reception desk. Local organisations can drop off literature or other information resources to be placed there. 

Further inside the space, the bottom floor has a 'jamming corner' complete with musical instruments, a play area for children, a space for displaying and selling local makers' work, and exhibition space, and an affordable cafe.

The cafe sells a range of hot drinks and other refreshments, and receives donations of sandwiches and cakes to sell to visitors. The play area is adjacent to the cafe's seating space, so children can play while their parents or guardians can sit and enjoy their refreshments. 

The Hub's exhibition space changes every six weeks, and local artists or organisations can get in touch if they wish to show some artwork.

Pearl added: “For such a smaller corner space for our display, we have had some really gorgeous artwork and exhibitions – and it just goes to show how creative Swindon is.”

Similarly, the Hub's retail area that sells local makers' handmade wares works on a three-month rotational basis. Local creators can get in touch with the Hub if they are interested in displaying and selling their items (contact details can be found below.)

Pearl explained: "Basically everything we have has been donated. Furniture, books, food, musical instruments, artwork, our sports equipment – you name it. We invest where we can, but we’re always doing shout outs for donations. It’s really amazing what people have gifted to us to help make things happen.”

The Hub also has some regular classes running each week now. These include writing club and Qigong classes on Wednesdays, arts and crafts, table tennis on Thursdays, and more.

Pearl added: "Everything is free, and everything is staffed by volunteers. A lot of our groups encourage people to come together and be creative in some sort of way. Everyone needs something creative – even if you don’t think you’re creative, it’s just human nature I think.

“With the current cost-of-living crisis, it’s nice to be able to offer something free though we welcome donations if people feel they can or that they want to. Quite often people will bring in some little projects of their own to do. Sometimes little groups are formed by people within the space organically.”

The majority of the classes and activities are free but some events hosted by people outside of the Hub staff body cost a small fee. 

Other regular groups include Hope Street (a peer-led support group for people in recovery or for families dealing with addiction), MIND, Coffee and Conversation (a group for refugees and other non-English speakers to learn the language), and Tea and Chat (a group for individuals with learning difficulties to get together).

Businesses and organisations also have the opportunity to utilise the Hub's space and resources. The upstairs space can be booked and used, as well as the downstairs cafe area. 

The Hub also has links with many community groups including Artsite, Urban Sketchers, the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Big Breakfast, Plastic-Free Swindon, Swindon City of Sanctuary and more. 

Now successfully past their first anniversary, there's no slowing down for the Swindon Hub team.

Pearl continued: "We’re always learning as we go and figuring out new ways of doing things. No day is the same here and it’s always busy. We are always in need of extra help, and there will always be something for volunteers to do.

"It’s easy to be negative about Swindon’s town centre, but I think it would surprise a lot of people to come down and see the effort that is being made to revive it. We work closely with inSwindon BID too, and try and facilitate events and promote each other’s work and activities. There’s some good teamwork going on and we hope our connections and relationships with other organisations continue to form and grow too.

"It’s impressive to look back and reflect on how far the Hub has come, and it’s obviously something that is needed within the Swindon community. It’s like that quote from Field of Dreams... ‘If you build it – they will come.’ We really want to keep going now, and to do that we do need volunteers."

Volunteer shifts can take place in the morning or afternoon, and the Hub team say they offer flexible schedules. Even if individuals can only offer a couple of hours every so often, they are encouraged to apply. 

 

More information about Swindon Hub can be found on its social media pages at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubswindon/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hubswindon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubswindon/?hl=en

 

Those wishing to get in touch with Swindon Hub can do so by emailing the following:

For general enquiries (and questions about volunteering) - [email protected]

For booking enquiries - [email protected]

For retail enquiries - [email protected]

Individuals can also pop into the Hub and speak to a member of the team about volunteering, or about any other queries they may have. 

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