United Communities is proud to celebrate the work of students and staff at The Phoenix Centre, where the monthly Community Hub event is growing in size and welcoming more and more local community members every month.
The Phoenix Centre in Bognor Regis has had a successful start to the year, with over 100 members of the local community coming together at its Community Hub event in January.
In the first monthly event of the year, students at The Regis School stepped in to help run various stalls at the Community Hub, including the first-ever book swap. Starting originally as a food hub, the Community Hub event has expanded to include a pre-loved uniform sale, hygiene bank and a book swap thanks to the successes of previous editions.
For the book swap, the communities from Stepping Stones Nursery, Southway Primary and The Regis School contributed over 1300 books – from family favourites to bedtime stories.
In October to December, the hub events saved over 975kg of food from going to landfill - the equivalent of 2,321 meals. Likewise in January, most attendees came away with fresh foods, or an armful of uniform or books.
As part of this monthly event, external partners such as UK Harvest and Arun Wellbeing are connected with families of the schools, members of the public and student leaders. This means that members of the local community can also benefit from the support of wellbeing groups, all under the same roof.
The Phoenix Centre, which is located alongside The Regis School and working in collaboration with United Communities, is a state-of-the art youth and community centre that offers local people a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space to come together to connect, have fun and act on the things they care about.
The hub event is part of the campus-wide ‘Cradle to Career’ project, which strives to work collaboratively to provide opportunities for children and young people. Not only does this work ensure they are supported to achieve academic excellence, but also helps to develop their character so they can go on to thrive in adult life. This spans from the youngest pupils at Stepping Stones, through to Sixth Formers leaving school to start university, an apprenticeship or work.
Assistant Principal, Caroline Saunders commented: “These hubs are a real community affair. Each stall is run by our TRS student leaders, and it is a great space to catch up, grab a coffee, and pick up some fresh vegetables, that otherwise would end up in landfill. The guest community representatives add another dimension, and we hope the hub will become a one-stop shop not only for our parents, but staff and general members of the public too. Everyone is genuinely welcome”.