The volunteers at the Havens Food Cooperative could put the elves to shame with the amount of dedication they showed over the Christmas and New Year period. Taking on extra routes and facing colder evenings but still delivering support and care with a smile. Thank you to everyone who supported us and continues to help us make a positive impact in our community, fighting waste and feeding the community together.
Over the Christmas period we were privileged to have a visit from Kimmy’s Nursery just down the hall from us! The children spent the afternoon making us some fantastic salt dough decorations for the Christmas Tree in the Café and they decorated the tree spectacularly! We finished the afternoon of crafting off with a delicious Christmas Dinner enjoyed by everyone!
We were lucky to have some of the crew join us from Good Morning Britain and record our Havens Connections Cafe as a local warm hub in Newhaven. Here are some behind the scenes from our busy morning, or you can catch up on this mornings episode at: https://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain (8th January 2025.)
The 20th January-24th we will be partaking in #warmwelcomeweek and offering free teas and coffees between 10am-12pm to welcome new visitors to our community café in this cold time of year, so do come and visit us, whether you are just looking for a cuppa and a change of scenery or actively seeking support we're here to welcome all.
Warm Welcome Week starts on Blue Monday, running from Monday 20 January to Sunday 26 January 2025 and Havens Connections Café are getting involved!
For too many people, January is the coldest, loneliest, and most challenging time of the year—in recent years, the phrase ‘Blue Monday’ has been adopted to describe the month’s lowest point. As well as taking its toll on mental health, this long, dark month can be financially difficult, and many households face the stark choice between heating and eating.
This January, we’re joining with the Warm Spaces Community and taking ‘Blue Monday’ back by giving it a colourful makeover. Everyone is invited to embrace a warming palette—whether you simply pop on an old orange bobble hat or jumper, together we will chase away the blues this winter.
We are chasing the blues away with a kaleidoscope of orange, red, purple, and pink and creating a surge of warmth and positivity in the coldest week of the coldest month.
Havens Connections Café is a registered Warm Welcome Space and Warm Welcome Spaces are inclusive spaces where people of all cultures, backgrounds, needs, and faiths can come together as one community. Together, we can reduce isolation and loneliness and create a sense of belonging.
To celebrate Warm Welcome Week we will have free teas and coffees available between 10am-12pm Monday 20th January-Friday 24th January, at the Café so come and join us for a cuppa, the kettle is always on.
#WarmWelcomeWeek #WarmWelcomeSpace
Exciting news!
Community volunteers, Katherine Kenway and Paula Woolven, are hosting weekly prize bingo afternoons from 3pm at the Havens Connections Café in the Hillcrest Community Centre, Bay Vue Road, Newhaven, starting Monday, January 6th.
All proceeds will be donated to the cafe's Pay-It-Forward scheme, which allows cafe users to 'pay as they feel' if they are experiencing difficult situations or receive home-cooked refreshments free.
The fun starts at 3 pm, with doors opening at 2.30 pm to purchase refreshments.
Tickets must be pre-booked due to limited space at https://bit.ly/havensbingo
To donate to the Pay-It-Forward scheme, please see: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/payitforwardcafe
This weekend we hosted an End of Year Celebration Party to honor the incredible volunteers who support Havens Community Hub's the projects all throughout the year. From delicious food and laughter to sharing stories of the impact you've all made this year, it was a night to remember!
Your dedication, kindness, and hard work continue to inspire us and make such a difference in our community. Thank you for everything you do!
Here’s to another amazing year ahead!
Havens Community Hub's Current Projects: Havens Food Cooperative Havens Connections Cafe Havens Support & Volunteer Hub
Havens Community Hub's Legacy Charities: Havens Community Cars CIO Havens Happy Clubs
This December Havens Community Hub, got to be part of the Lidl Toy Bank Scheme.
We received and redistributed over 100 toys through this scheme and were able to support several families and the Seahaven Baby Bank with donations of toys in the festive period.
Thank you for everyone that was involved, to those that donated a toy in store, for the amazing staff at Newhaven Lidl for facilitating the donation point and the wonderful volunteers who collected and distributed the toys this month.💚
Havens Food Cooperative are pleased to share that the Community Pantry based in Thompson Road, Denton, will still be open daily throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
In previous years we have seen huge amounts of surplus bread and veg available over the festive period so we invite visitors to check in at the Pantry and take what they can to help prevent food waste in our community!
Our Pantry opens from 9am daily, until supply lasts!
On Tuesday we had the CTLA in to Havens Connections Cafe for their Travel Club’s Christmas Lunch! A two course Christmas meal with all the trimmings was enjoyed by 21 people!
There’s still time to book your Christmas meal at the Cafe- just contact havensconnectionscafe@gmail.com for a menu and more information.
Rebecca from the Havens Food Cooperative Team visited the Co-op food store in Peacehaven last week for a celebration and catch up with Store Managers Tony and Carter. The project was one of their chosen supported causes this year and Co-op members helped us to raise funds to keep supporting the environment and the community with surplus food redistribution! A big thank you goes out to the stores for welcoming our project and a big thank you to all those helped through their Co-op Membership!
At the end of October this year, we had the children from Kimmy’s Nursery join us for an afternoon of biscuit baking and decorating! It was great fun to host this little event in our Havens Connections Cafe and we had some tasty treats made by all the kids! Here are some photos from their visit.
Today at our 2024 AGM we were thrilled to announce that Havens Community Cars CIO has received The King’s Award For Voluntary Service. We joined together with our team and volunteers to celebrate and to discuss the future of Havens Community Cars.
This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE. We would like to wish our volunteer team a huge congratulations as they really go above and beyond for the Cars Scheme, supporting the community enormously.
Our thanks were echoed by Councillor Lesley Boniface Chair of Lewes District Council at the AGM and the LDC Leader Councillor Zoe Nicholson on the council webcast.
To get involved with our project and for more details of how to volunteer visit: https://www.havenscommunityhub.co.uk/communitycars
Havens Connections Cafe is now taking booking for Christmas Dinners!
Contact Cafe Manager Julia for more info and to book: havensconnectionscafe@gmail.com or visit the Cafe and enquire.
Havens Support & Volunteer Hub is offering face-to-face drop-in services at locations around the Havens.
It is an information giving service to support people with a range of topics from Connecting with Local Services, Navigating Online information, Cost of Living Support and Volunteering Opportunities.
Our network of partners and support groups mean that we can assist with a wide range of areas, that our research shows that there is a need for additional support with.
Come and TALK to us
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We will take TIME - to help, chat, print a document, fill out a form, sit with us and talk, face to face, over a cuppa.
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ASK us anything - from money guidance, housing, food support, volunteering opportunities, travel planning, benefits information and much more.
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We will LISTEN and provide a friendly, helpful, ear and you will only have to tell your story once. You will not have to repeat the same information to each group that can help you.
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Our KNOWLEDGEABLE and helpful team will offer you information, guidance and support. We will connect you to right person to assist you.
Along with our other Havens projects we are uniquely positioned to become the one place to go to for community needs. Contact Jacquihavenshub@gmail.com for more information.
The Mayor of Newhaven, Councillor Pinky McLean-Knight, recently visited Julia Dunstan, Café Manager at our Havens Connections Café based in the Hillcrest Centre, Newhaven.
Julia was pleased to welcome Mayor Pinky to the Café and engage in a discussion about expanding access to food support within our community. Founder and Director of the Havens Community Hub, Paula Woolven, joined the conversation, highlighting the main aims of the newly founded Havens Connections Café. Paula emphasised, “Everyone deserves access to good food and a warm environment,” and shared that “Havens Connections Café is a place where we can all unite, support one another, and foster connections within our community.”
The visit underscored the commitment to enhancing food accessibility and community wellbeing through collaborative efforts. Mayor Pinky expressed her admiration for the café’s mission, remarking on the positive impact it brings to Newhaven by encouraging inclusivity and offering a safe space where everyone is welcome.
If you’d like to support our 'Pay-It-Forward' scheme and help make a difference, you can donate via https://localgiving.org/fundraising/payitforwardcafe .
Every contribution helps us continue building a connected, supported community.
On Thursday 17 October 2024, the Chair of Lewes District Council, Cllr Lesley Boniface, visited Havens Community Hub as part of her Theme of Office visits.
Cllr Boniface said, "I have been aware of Havens Community Hub's enormous impact in the community since I saw them step up their provision during the pandemic in 2020. What I love about the organisation is the links between their projects - I saw people at the Happy Clubs who are also helped by the Community Car service and the Food Cooperative, it's a 'wrap around' caring community of volunteers and workers who are able to deal with all of the aspects people might face from the cost of living crisis and preventing isolation and loneliness."
Cllr Boniface had a busy schedule visiting all the parts of the Hub including the Havens Food Cooperative, where she helped with one of the surplus food hauls, the Havens Happy Clubs, where she joined in the fun for an afternoon with members and finally the Havens Connections Café, to have a delicious lunch made by Chef Julia alongside a chat about how Havens Community Cars is supporting people with transport in the community.
Cllr Boniface said, "I'm amazed at how much the Hub and its projects and legacy charities are able to do" and "I saw again how their ethos 'we'll find a way - or make a way' is true. The volunteers and staff are incredible. I've also seen how they have been helping the Hillcrest Community Centre and I'm very excited for the revived 'Heart of the Community' now that the Community Café has been re-opened, with new bookings, activities and visitors."
Havens Community Hub were so pleased that Councillor Lesley Boniface could join us for a day and get involved in all the activities of the Hub and it’s legacy charities.
Thank you to everyone who visited us at Havens Community Hub this year for our annual Trick or Treat Pitstop! We had approximately 500 visitors at our haunted circus themed Hub! We loved all the costumes and hope you all enjoyed our Haunted Circus Trick or Treat Pitstop!
Special thanks to our Havens Food Cooperative Manager Rebecca for organising the event and to the volunteers Sam, Dez, Jasz and Ed for helping with decorations and delicious pumpkin pies!
A big thank you also to our Havens Connections Cafe Manager, Julia and volunteers, for preparing some delicious pumpkin themed treats using surplus food! We had tasty pumpkin flapjacks, cookies, cupcakes, soup and pastries!
And thank you to Hubbub for funding this event through the #EatYourPumpkin scheme!
Known as the 'heart' of the Hillcrest Community Centre in Newhaven, the recently closed community cafe built connections, fostered community spirit, promoted local well-being, and provided low-cost, quality refreshments for over twenty-five years.
Havens Community Hub has leased the cafe, and it will re-open with a limited menu from Monday, 5th August, with a full opening planned for September, when they will also be opening a support hub in the Centre. Havens Community Hub supports, connects and creates projects where there is an unmet community need and has already formed Havens Community Cars volunteer driver service, Havens Happy Clubs for older people with complex needs and Havens Food Cooperative, which prevents the waste of over three tonnes of edible produce per week.
"Our ethos is to 'find a way, or make a way,'" said the Hub's founder, Paula Woolven, "we think that it is vital for the Centre to have a thriving cafe again, and basing our services there, too, makes perfect sense. We will be in the middle of the area that we cover—Saltdean to Seaford—and will be working hard with the Trustees, staff, and volunteers of the Hillcrest Centre to ensure the venue thrives fo generations to come."
For more information on the Hillcrest Centre, which is available for bookings, see www.hillcrestcentre.co.uk
For more information on Havens Community Hub, see www.havenscommunityhub.co.uk
On July 7th the team at Liftmaster UK will be participating in this years Lewes to Newhaven Raft Race.
This years theme is "Wacky Racers" participants create your own Wacky Racer to take on the challenge. The team at Liftmaster have described the event as “mad, painful, brutal, but brilliant”.
We are overjoyed that they have chosen to support Havens Community Hub and Food Cooperative, and hope that you will go and sponsor them here
The Founder of Havens Community Hub (Havens Food Cooperative Havens Happy Clubs Havens Community Cars CIO) Paula Woolven, attended an Investiture Ceremony at Lewes Town Hall on Thursday 30th May with her family and attended a rather wet garden party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 20th May with Dawn Norman, Hub Senior Manager.
Paula was awarded the British Empire Medal (B.E.M) for her years of community service, in particular how Havens Community Hub stepped up their work during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
She was presented with the medal by Mr Andrew Blackman CStJ, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for East Sussex at a lunchtime event hosted by the Mayor of Lewes, Councillor Imogen Makepeace, with the High Sheriff, Lucinda Fraser DL and Juliet Olsworth-Peter JP DL in attendance.
Her citation was read out by Paul Davis, Deputy Lieutenant. It included references to her work with the Havens charities and projects and her years of fundraising and volunteering for other charities including Seaford Musical Theatre, DaSH Junior Football Club and Community Transport for the Lewes Area. To date, Paula has raised over a million pounds for East Sussex charities and good causes and remains on the front line of vital work in the Lewes District
She dedicated the award to the volunteers and staff at Havens Hub, Food Coop, Happy Clubs and Community Cars and says she is grateful for the hundreds of people who have helped her in her charitable endeavours.
She was inspired by her mother, Marilyn Nolan (pictured), who was herself awarded the B.E.M. in 2016, for a lifetime of volunteering.
