‘Our commitment is to the people of the community’: Community hub gives hope to people of Denny
A community centre in Denny is working hard to bring a spark of hope and connection back to residents.
The Hope Hub, located on Glasgow Road, welcomes everyone and anyone by providing a warm meeting space and promoting community connections.
The Hope Hub offers a café and boutique, both which are open from 10am to 12pm Monday to Saturday and both are completely run by volunteers.
Hot drinks and breakfast foods are on offer at the Hub for the price of a donation, but more often than not the goods are given out free of charge. The Hope Hub also provides emergency food parcels to local residents.
Heather McKenzie, 38, is one of the founders and a volunteer at The Hope Hub, and she believes the Hub should be accessible for all.
She said: “We’re really keen to reach out to the people that are close by who may be lonely, isolated or, for lots of social reasons, don’t see other people or don’t get the support that they need.
“Really, we’re keen for it to be for everybody.”
As the Hub is self-funded, they opened a boutique to allow them to continue their work.
Pre-loved quality clothing is available to purchase at heavily discounted prices, for example a good quality winter coat would cost around £6. A high turnover at the store means the Hope Hub has funding to continue their work, but it also means that the community is benefitting from having access to affordable and quality clothing.
Heather added: “The money is purely going to support the community.”
The Hub’s bridal section gives brides access to wedding dresses for a fraction of the cost. Wedding dress browsing is through appointment only, and the Hub is booked out until almost February after media coverage resulted in a “huge influx” in bookings with nearly 50 brides contacting the Hub for a slot.
“Our commitment is to the people of the community and whatever it is that they need. We care more about the individual experience than numbers or getting the grants or whatever - we just want to be led by our community and what they need.”
So far, The Hope Hub’s strategy has been serving the community well and the team sees a lot of repeat customers coming back to visit.
Heather said: “We know that it has really changed people’s lives. People have become part of a community that they’ve never been a part of before. They’ve become friends with people who are quite demographically different to them but live close by.
People who have used the services provided have told the staff the impact the hub has had on their lives.
Heather said: “We had a woman who I think was in her 60s, maybe older, who said she’d never had a birthday cake as an adult until she became friends with other people in the Hope Hub. She’s now found other people who come in, other friends that she sees outside [of the Hub] as well.
“It has definitely had a positive impact on individuals and I suppose on the community more largely.”
The Hope Hub, located at 80 Glasgow Road, Denny, accepts drop-in clothing donations from 10am to noon Monday to Saturday.