A small team of Pocklington Town Councillors, Trustees, and volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure that Burnby Hall will be saved for the benefit of the local community. However, in order to realise the vision and make the Community Centre the best it can possibly be, we now need the support of residents and businesses in the local area. With a little help, this project can be a great success, securing a community asset truly valued by the people of Pocklington and beyond.

The community asset transfer from East Riding of Yorkshire Council to Pocklington Town Council is nearing completion. As an interim step, from the 1^st October the Town Council has been licensed to manage the Community Hall, with the Pocklington Community Trust providing volunteers to oversee the process. On completion of the Community Asset Transfer, the Pocklington Community Trust will lease Burnby Hall from the Town Council.

Using the Facilities

The most obvious way to support the Burnby Hall project is for residents, local groups, charities and businesses to make use of the Community Hall. Hire charges have been halved from the previous tariff to make hiring the room affordable and the new on-line booking system makes the booking process quicker and simpler.

Become a Volunteer

As a community organisation, volunteers are essential to the smooth operation of Burnby Hall.

We are looking for people who enjoy working with a friendly group of like-minded people, feeling they are making a difference in the community and at the same time knowing that they are helping to build Burnby Hall into a great community asset.

What kind of things do the volunteers get involved in?

We have no paid roles in our charity and volunteers are essential to reducing the running costs of the Hall and with that in mind there are many different types of activities that Volunteers can help out with – including:

• Helping with opening the hall for events and greeting hirers of the hall, closing the hall after events and ensuring that the hall has been left as it was found.
• Helping with odd jobs around the Hall – which might include decorating, general maintenance jobs.
• Administration – office work, including dealing with bookings, accounts etc.
• Helping to organise Fund Raising
• Helping with Grant Applications
• Helping to market the charity including creative ideas for Posters, Leaflets, and building our social media presence etc.

In truth the opportunities are endless… everyone is welcome – if you think you can help, please contact us.

How does it work?

We would love to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer for any of these tasks.

Please click here to complete a Volunteers Form, which will give us some indication any expertise/experience you may have and the type of activities you are interested in being involved in, as well as your general availability. Once you sign up as a volunteer you will be included in our regular communications – where we outline the activities planned in the Hall for the coming month and ask you to let us know which ones you are able to help out with. We try to spread the work across the volunteers. Alternatively, please contact us at [email protected]

After the refurbishment of Burnby Hall is complete, more volunteers will be needed. Volunteers from the community will play a crucial role in ensuring the centre operates smoothly.

Supporting Fund Raising Activities

Fundraising is essential to the success of the Pocklington Community Centre project. We need to raise as much money as possible and although the Pocklington Community Trust can access grant funding, many of these require match-funding. Therefore, it is vital that we dedicate time and effort to raising funds and every member of the community has a role to play:

• Individuals

We will soon be setting up an appeal to the local community which will encourage households and individuals to make their own contribution to the Burnby Hall project and help us realise our plans. We would love for as many households as possible to contribute to our appeal. All donations, large and small, make a difference and with more than 10,000 residents in Pocklington, we can raise immensely valuable funding. We are also exploring the possibility of establishing a ‘Friends of Burnby Hall’ group to provide further on-going support. We recognise that technology now plays an increasingly important part in raising donations. The power of social media and the use of on-line giving platforms have become an important channel for many charities.

As an alternative way to support the Burnby Hall project, at no cost to yourself, would you consider signing up to easyfundraising? Where we receive a donation from the retailer when you make an online purchase through one of the 7000+ businesses who support the scheme. It could make a huge difference to the charity. Please click here for more information and details of how to register on the scheme.

• Businesses

 Pocklington is fortunate to have a thriving business community. We hope that many of you will recognise the importance and potential of this ambitious project to Pocklington and its surrounding areas, and will want to show your support for the local community either by sponsorship or by giving a donation to the project. Gifts in kind are also a great way to utilise your company’s assets and professional skills, while achieving your Corporate Social Responsibility goals.

• Groups

There are over 70 local charity and voluntary groups in Pocklington, some of which already use the Community Hall. With our new competitive pricing structure, we believe that many more people can enjoy using this local facility. Once the refurbishment of the Hall is complete and updated facilities are available within Burnby Hall itself, we envision that this number will continue to grow. It would be wonderful if any local groups could plan even a small fundraising event, or come up with any other ways to support the project.