Buckie Community Hub hail donation boost ahead of winter rush
A community hub has received a welcome cash donation ahead of an anticipated winter rush on their services.
Buckie Community Hub, which is based at 17 East Church Street in the town, were delighted to recently receive a cheque for £400 from service users at Loch Park activities centre.
Situated between Keith and Dufftown, the centre, among other things, offers courses and activities for adults with disabilities.
On hand to hand over the cheque was local man Graeme Thain, who himself has been attending Loch Park for almost 30 years.
He said: “Every May we hold a music festival to raise money for good causes.
“There’s five or six of us from Buckie go to Loch Park so we thought it would be nice if money raised from the festival could go to the Buckie Community Hub to help the good work they do.”
The Hub, which is entirely staffed and run by volunteers, was set up by Buckie Area Forum (BAF). It provides a wide range of services to the local community, ranging from being a warm space for people struggling to heat their homes to signposting those in need to a range of partner agencies.
BAF chairman Gordon McDonald commented: “The donation was a very, very pleasant surprise and we're delighted that the work that we're doing is being acknowledged by people outwith the Hub itself.
“We can only thank Loch Park for the really generous donation.
“The Hub itself is actually very, very well used. It's extremely busy although obviously we would prefer it to be quiet and folk not needing the help.
“We can only see that the winter is going to be a hard time, especially with the winter fuel allowance being taken away from a lot of people. It’s inevitable that’s going to have an impact; from the statistics it looks like the worry of hypothermia is going to be a serious issue, especially if we get a very severe winter. You just never know.”
The cash from Loch Park is set to bolster the efforts to prepare the Hub to help what could well be a major influx of people in desperate need.
Mr McDonald continued: “We are in the process of buying in hot water bottles and other winter wraps and stuff like that that we can help people with.
“We already have food vouchers and stuff like that in place, but basically the Loch Park donation will all go into the Hub for helping those in the most need.
“The Hub is an entirely volunteer-run, apolitical organisation and I believe we’re unique in Moray. At least in Buckie, people have us as a lifeline. My concern is that other parts of Moray don't have that facility.”
To find out more about the many services offered by the Hub, visit the facility’s Facebook page.
