A North Yorkshire Town Hall Trust, which for over a century has been at the centre of community life, has been boosted by a community grant.
Since 1919, Stokesley Town Hall has operated as a Trust: “for the benefit and advantage” of local residents.
It hosts many events including social activities, educational classes, fitness groups, classes for youngsters and their parents, luncheons for the elderly, art classes and many clubs such as flower, photo and ukelele.
The hall’s town centre positioning makes it ideal for visitors to the local markets who fancy a cuppa or meet up with friends in a warm and welcoming environment. In addition, a community bus tours the town and local villages bringing passengers to the hall’s doorstep and so helping to avoid social isolation.
In recent years the demand for use of the hall has grown and switching from session to session has proved more challenging.
“We might need a quick change from a seated bingo session to a yoga class where we need the floor completely clear,” said Clerk to the Trust, Julie McLuckie. “The old, heavy wooden tables and chairs were proving increasingly cumbersome for moving between groups.”
Now a £350 grant from Broadacres has allowed the trust to buy lightweight, foldable tables which the town hall stewards can easily manage.
“As a charity we rely on the small fees we charge for usage to cover the costs of running the hall so grants like this one from Broadacres are vital for buying equipment,” said Julie.
“These tables are ideal, and many groups will get many years of use out of them.”
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- To learn more about the Town Hall Trust visit: https://www.stokesleytowncouncil.gov.uk/town-hall
- The Broadacres Community Development Fund supports local organisations, groups, and projects in areas where Broadacres has homes. All grants are approved by the Association’s own residents via a voting scheme using tokens similar to how Tesco award grants in its stores.
- To apply to the Fund visit https://www.broadacres.org.uk/customer-area/getting-involved/community-development-fund/
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