Chantrys Weekend: “A Wonderful Success”

Beds, sofas, tables, tyres and even an old duke box were collected this Saturday as part of the Chantrys Weekend Action Day. Sizzling sausages at Sunday’s street party were a fitting conclusion to the launch of the Chantrys Community Project – a community development initiative facilitated by Jubilee Church Farnham in partnership with the Chantrys Resident’s Association, Waverley Borough Council and Surrey County Council.

 

45 volunteers from Jubilee Church Farnham, many of them young people, were joined by Chantrys residents and people from other Farnham Churches and Youth Groups between 10pm and 4pm on Saturday. In teams they responded to 65 requests left on the Action Hotline during the preceding week. Some teams cleared rubbish from homes and gardens and others, equipped with gloves and rubbish bags, removed graffiti and picked litter. Teams also cut grass and hedges for the elderly and disabled, and at the end of the day a fleet of vans and dustcarts supplied by the council removed the rubbish mountain from the Chantrys Community Hall car park.

 

Saturday’s hard work turned to rest and relaxation on a sunny Sunday afternoon as the Chantrys Community Hall was transformed into a carnival atmosphere with families enjoying the free BBQ, face painting, hair braiding, nail painting, cherry spitting, treasure hunting, flag making, plate smashing, tombola and goal scoring. The Jubilee Church Kidz Klub team used the Multi Use Games Area for their usual mixture of messy team games for 5 to 11 year olds.

 

The display area in the Chantrys Community Hall showcased various community activities that start this summer on the Chantrys - The Hub (a weekly youth drop-in to be run in partnership with FCCT Cohesion), the Chantrys Chattabox (Parents and Toddlers Group), Tea and Talk (afternoon teas for the elderly) along with football coaching and computer classes. Farnham ASSIST also displayed the range of services they provide for the elderly in Farnham.

 

“We have been involved with Chantrys families for a number of years through our Kidz Klub, but last year were approached to help revive the Chantrys Community Hall through the development of various community initiatives,” said Sean Gubb, Senior Pastor of Jubilee Church Farnham.

 

The key to the success of this initiative has been the appointment, in January, of Amber Delves as the Chantrys Community Outreach Project Manager. This new role, part of the Jubilee Church team, works in partnership with both voluntary and statuary agencies for the benefit of local residents, and is jointly funded by Jubilee Church Farnham, Surrey County Council, and a Resident Association grant application.

 

“It is so positive have different agencies working together for the good of the Chantrys residents,” said Pat Frost, Surrey County Councillor - Farnham Central.   Kate Douglas, Waverley Community Development Worker, added, “Amber has done a fantastic job of making this weekend a wonderful success – great family atmosphere with real community spirit.”

 

“The church in the UK gets a lot of bad press these days,” said Sean Gubb, “however this is an excellent example of the good news the church is supposed to be in the community.”