Welcome Kitchen Raises £700 for KCH
Welcome Kitchen raises £700 for KCH
Welcome Kitchen first started in October 2022. Stephen, the editor of the Kibworth and District Chronicle had written an article published in October 2022 titled ‘The Eat or Heat Dilemma’. Stephen said, “WK was a post-Covid event to meet some of the needs of the hungry, as the cost of living was spiralling. We were also there for the lonely with essential social contact. I am so very pleased this has been a success, especially in providing social connections. All credit goes to the current team who run today’s WK – especially chef Jenny Webb.”
Since then, the Welcome Kitchen has grown significantly. Last Easter we peaked at 77 guests. We are a very friendly bunch of 15 volunteers, and we serve homemade soup with a roll & butter, tea and coffee and delicious cakes from M&S.
We also have a raffle off the flowers and plants that have been donated by M&S Food in Oadby. We have also had great financial support from Platform Housing.
The Welcome Kitchen meets every Monday from 12noon to 1.30pm through to Easter 2025. We are even open Monday 23 December this year and then back open on Monday 6 January. All our profits go to KCH Charity.
Come and have some great conversation, meet your friends and have a good laugh. It’s a fun crowd.
On the run up to Christmas we are also partnering with Open Hands in Leicester with a ‘donate a coat’ campaign and with The Well in Kibworth with a ‘donate a new toothbrush’ to their food bank.
A new era for Kibworth Community Hub
As many of you will know, Kibworth Community Hub is run by a small group of volunteers. We are delighted to announce our new team.
David Walker-Smith has taken on the role of Chair. Previously Executive Buying and Merchandise Director at Selfridges and Managing Director at Fenwick of Bond St and currently in contract negotiations with projects in Finland and Saudi. David is the UK Ambassador for The British Beauty Council.
Geraldine Hulley, Vice Chair and Treasurer. Senior leader of governance in post-16 education specialising in supporting colleges in financial supervised status.
Andrew – Successful entrepreneur with extensive experience in sales. Uses building and maintenance skills to support to help maintain the KCH. Long-serving trustee who represents the village theatres.
Lauren – Thirty years’ experience of working in estates with extensive experience in finance, conveyancing and family law.
Heather – A successful career in banking, manager of an early years’ setting and mother of three who have given her eight grandchildren.
Caroline – Significant HR background from a long career at M&S before joining Scott Bader where I was Group Learning & Development Manager.
Amanda and Caroline attend meetings as representatives of Harcourt and Beauchamp Parish Councils. We are grateful to the support our Parish Councillors’ chairs, Andrew Munro and Kevin Feltham
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Martyn Wyburn who has recently stepped down as Chair, Lynn Williams and Shona Atkins who have also stepped down.
Thank you all so much for your commitment. Martyn and his team have all worked extremely hard enabling the change and the rebranding of the Hall to Kibworth Community Hub.
Update on KCH
The Kibworth Grammar School Hall in Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire was built in 1936 and has been a community centre since 1999. In the past year, the Grammar School Hall has been rebranded to Kibworth Community Hub with the plan and vision to strengthen its position as the centre of the community.
The first phase of the building work completes end of January 2025 and will be the new location for Kibworth Library. Together with the library we will develop a magnificent plan for The Hub’s future and also confirm dates on when the Library is relocated.
What makes the space unique is the diversity of the main hall. For example, in the last two months we have been home to Main Stage Theatre Company, The Kibworth Art Fair, FTGU Wrestling event, The Kibworth Ladies Choir and Kibworth Brass Band. There is so much more that we can do.
Our plans for next year also include a Joules Outlet evening. Keep your eyes on the Notice Board for dates and how to buy a ticket.
Kibworth Art Fair
Over the weekend of 4 and 5 October, the Hall was transformed into an art gallery. David worked closely with many local artists, bringing together a display of over 100 unique pieces. After the success of this year’s Art Fair where we raised £1,500 for KCH, we plan to create two new events next year, one in April and a larger art and craft fair at the end of October 2025, all selling local arts and crafts.
Martyn Wyburn abseiled back in the summer and raised over £500 for KCH. Fancy helping us raise funds? We would love to hear your ideas!
FTGU Wrestling
FTGU, ‘From The Ground Up School Of Wrestling’ is a wrestling facility, run by head coach Gareth Harris in Leicester. They also host shows in and around Leicestershire allowing the students to showcase and partake in a live wrestling show. They held a family-friendly event in KCH Saturday 23rd November. It was a sell-out and was great fun. The next one at KCH is April 2025.
Building on the vision of ‘Think Community in all we do,’ the Trustees have an exciting vision for KCH and this is where we need your help.
Do you have two or three hours to spare each month to get involved with the KCH as a volunteer? We are looking to grow the number of volunteers we currently have supporting us to make The Community Hub even more successful. Do you have any experience of gardening, marketing, website design or even catering etc? We would love to hear from you.
We are holding an open evening on Thursday 19 December between 6 and 8pm at the KCH. Come along for a cup of tea and a biscuit to find out how you can help us. Everyone is very welcome.
The KCH is all about supporting our local community.
Kibworth Harcourt Post Mill Christmas Lights
