ZOE CROOT

Hi Zoe. Can you start by telling us a little bit about The Fun Hub?

Fun Hub is a CIC set up to provide much needed support and services for our communities; That could be financial support through access to our community pantry, affordable activities for children, or help with directing people to financial support. We work with families to meet their needs, so they can access things even though there’s a cost of cost-of-living crisis.

Why did you decide to set up the charity?

I came out of teaching to run a chain of children’s nurseries. Particularly since the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve seen more and more families that are in desperate need of support; Be that financial or be that mental health. We got involved with local authorities through the HAF programme, which provides holiday activities with the aim to make free places available to children eligible for benefits-related free school meals. We then set up a community pantry and we’ve just managed to secure quite a large amount from the Big Lottery to purchase a refrigerated van, so we’re going out into the community. Where we’re different is that we’re not means tested like food banks are.

What’s been the biggest change since the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis?

I’ve now got doctors, nurses, professionals whose childcare bills are near £1000 a month, and they need help. I’ve got parents that are working 50 to 60 hours a week and still can’t make ends meet. This is why the Fun Hub was launched.

As well as the community pantry, what events do you run?

We offer holiday clubs delivering fun and educational activities to young people during the school holidays. We also managed to obtain some funding from the Open Up project, so we’re currently bringing the old and new together with afternoon teas, which has proven very successful – We had 90 families last week. We’re trying to get the elderly out as well, trying to get all the generations to come together. It’s also to try and make life a bit more fun and enjoyable.

What’s next for the Fun Club?

The next steps are going to be a SEND unit for children with medical needs. We will be opening and launching a family hub where families with children with special educational needs can attend on a daily basis to get that support. We’ve also just put in for some funding to put youth workers back on the streets to help teenagers in our areas and tackle antisocial behaviour. Get

/ funhubactivities.co.uk