About Us
Once a week, a group of cheerful volunteers arrive at St Nicholas’ Church Hall on Summer Road to start setting up for the morning. For 3 and a half hours every Tuesday morning, a group of dedicated people, some with experience, others with just kindness give their time to make a difference to the small number of people living in the community that need help, support, advice or just company. We are closed for just one Tuesday a year, usually the immediate Tuesday after Christmas. We offer a reliable and welcoming centre of hope.
What happens during the Community Hub on Tuesdays Mornings?
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We welcome the Bereavement Café on the 3rd Tuesday of every month.
This is run by trained volunteers from Princess Alice Hospice who enjoy privacy in their own space to help those in need
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Community lunches are very much part of what we offer at the hub.
We currently offer these once a month. Everyone is welcome at our community lunches where home cooked food brings together the whole community from foodbank clients to the craft ladies, church community, weekly hub visitors and volunteers.
Our two big annual events: The Summer BBQ and the Christmas lunch, kindly sponsored by Colets.
Quite often we are accompanied by St Nicholas’ organist Angus playing the piano too!
Everyone is welcome
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We have a vibrant Craft and Chatter table at the hub where people come to enjoy a variety of crafts from knitting and crochet to drawing and painting and any craft in between.
Some of these lovely ladies (everyone is welcome) are also part of the Boomerang Bag initiative and are incredibly innovative.
Some of the community enterprises involve, making all the crackers for our Hub Christmas lunch, hand knitting poppies for Remembrance Sunday, and continue to knit clothes to send out to Africa for ‘fish and chip’ babies; so called because newborn babies are sent home wrapped in newspaper in sub Saharan Africa due to extreme poverty. It’s our way of helping those a little further afield.
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A large share of our visitors are Foodbank clients, directed by the East Elmbridge division of the Trussell Trust.
The Foodbank is where it all started at St Nick’s Community Hub and continues to be one of the principal reasons why people visit us.
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Our Pre-loved Clothes Rail, expertly run by one of our volunteers, is particular popular.
Donations are invited but not expected particularly from those unable to donate and the clothes rail is available to everyone that attends the Hub.
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The Talbot Café is an initiative run by St Philips School Chessington where children with special needs are learning how to become baristas, serve drinks and cake and develop skills that will hopefully enable them to go onto employment once they leave school.
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We are not just a formatted drop-in centre. Over the past 4 years we have helped and continue our support to those who need it. The following are examples of what we offer:
Some families go on a much-needed holiday
Arranged legal aid to (successfully) challenge an eviction order which threatened a mother and her 5 school age children
Arranged for someone to stay at an addictions retreat centre in Derby
Supported a young mum facing court charges for ABH
Helped an elderly gentleman care for his much-loved dogs by having them seen by a vet and treated for fleas. We are also helping him have his house deflead and recarpeted
Financial difference is constantly made to clients as a direct result of Jo’s presence (one of our volunteers), who offers financial advise.
Provided a meeting place for Ukrainian and Afghan refugees and their mentors from Elmbridge CAN
We also provide IT, Cost of Living Advice, Housing, etc. We are very grateful for our financial and IT volunteers. In particularly we partner with CAB to provide a well rounded set of practical advice to our visitors and the whole of the Thames Ditton Community who needs it.
Did you know? Facts about Elmbridge Council affecting Thames Ditton
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Did you know? Facts about Elmbridge Council affecting Thames Ditton /
In 2022/2023, 13% of children living in Elmbridge were living in poverty
In 2020/2021, 75% of children living in low-income households were in working families
More than 1800 local children are eligible for pupil premium funding and free school meals
27% of working people have struggled to pay their bills in the last 6 months
Poverty
48% of the population in Elmbridge are currently suffering from mental health issues directly related to the cost-of-living crisis - this figure has continued to increase year on year following the pandemic
While “baby blues” affect approximately 8 in 10 women, the NHS in England estimates more than 1 in 10 women go to develop suffer from Post Natal Depression. In Surrey, the estimate is at least 1 in 8 women.
Mental Health
In the past 5 years, the Trussell Trust has seen an increase in use of 94%. Overall, 3.1 emergency food parcels were given out in 2024 – 1.1 million of those parcels were provided for children.
In Thames Ditton alone, from January to December last year the foodbank at St Nick’s Community Hub helped 412 adults and 233 children.
Foodbank
In Elmbridge, 7.1% of the population are often or always lonely
These are the hardest people to reach as many live an isolated life.
Loneliness
Elmbridge is the 9th most unequal borough in England with worrying level os child poverty.
In 2022 the ONS reported that 19% of employees by Local Authority earn below than the living wage.
The average rent in Elmbridge is 41% higher than national rate.
The Education Policy Institute estimated in 2020 that by secondary school, the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantage students is almost a year and half.
Other Facts
We open the doors at 9.30am every Tuesday morning to the small group that are already waiting outside and wait to see what the morning brings. Every Tuesday is different. We welcome new people and hear new problems as well as saying hello to familiar faces and continuing to help those with ongoing issues.
We are supported by the Citizens Advice Bureau, The Alice Hospice, as well as the East Elmbridge Foodbank, and are equipped to signpost people who may need a variety of more specific advice for example; addiction, mental health problems, children’s clothing, tech advice and much, much more.
Once we have set up the hall and foodbank for the morning, we start with a briefing; to chat about anything relating to the hub that we may need to be aware of that day and to briefly discuss ideas for making the hub even better. Everything is treated with the upmost confidence and following guidelines to keep those more vulnerable safe.
Every Tuesday morning, we are reminded of the gulf in our community between the more affluent in Elmbridge and the growing number of people in need.
The hub is within the heart of our community. It is a lifeline for many, for others a place of friendship and hope.
As someone said during a conversation where the detailed information of everything we do at the hub; “Crikey, you’re not just a foodbank are you!”
Support Connection Hope
Testimonials
Testimonials
“The foodbank and hub are a lifeline to me and my family in my situation. I love the tea (made just how I like it) cake and chat with others. It is stress free and gives me a break from everyday life. My grandkids feel at home and safe here – they have been coming with me since they were very small and love it too. I always find help and advice as well as support and friendship.”
Local Grandparent Client
“The hub is an uplifting place. A wide range of people come on a Tuesday morning and benefit from warmth, coffee and company. I feel that, as a volunteer, I benefit from it as much as anyone visiting. I am putting something back into the community and also seeing a side of Thames Ditton that is usually hidden to me.”
Volunteer
“I look forward to Tuesday mornings at the hub every week. Tuesday is a special day for me. I get up early and make sure the house is tidy before I leave. I discovered the hub by accident and am so glad I did. I get to chat to others, talk about my week, share stories, discuss problems and receive advice. The hub provides a very warm, friendly and congenial atmosphere. I also very much enjoy the community lunches.”
90 Year Old Client