Hungerford Youth and Community Centre received a facelift by having a brand-new kitchen and new flooring fitted. Its fortunes and prospects improved further still with Howdens Joinery in Newbury making a donation towards the continued running of the Centre.

Tracey Leadbeater from Howdens presented a cheque for £500 and said that ‘Howdens is pleased to be able to support the good work of Hungerford Youth and Community Centre.’

The refurbishment project was made possible through a generous grant awarded by Greenham Trust when the Centre participated in Greenham’s ‘Pitch to the Panel’ initiative. Howdens was chosen to supply the kitchen and, as Andrea Hodgkin, Clerk to Hungerford Youth and Community Centre pointed out, “were really helpful throughout the process. They particularly showed their support of the project with their generous donation. The kitchen has made an enormous difference to the feel and functionality of the space. Steve Lukacs of Aspect Kitchens and Bathrooms did a fantastic job installing a kitchen with superb workmanship and remained smiling even when the project overran.”

This project has been a real community effort, with extra thanks to David Moore (from local architectural practice Orange Key), who kindly donated some time to adding a few touches of artistic flair to the kitchen design.

The Centre is already feeling the benefits of its new look with the addition of two new weekly user groups: the home education group LEAF (Linking Education and Families) ;and Mini Professors, a science class for toddlers. The Centre is an important and well used resource for the community. “We’ve seen a sharp rise in bookings over the past two years,” Andrea explained, “and we are now very happy to count nine regular users on our books. Adding a kitchen is a great move as it opens new possibilities for our youth clubs and other groups. Thank you also to the team at Greenham Trust and The Town and Manor of Hungerford Charity who made it all possible with their kind donations. We are delighted that all the hard work is paying off. Watch this space – we have plenty more ideas in the pipeline!”

Photograph shows (left to right): Tracey Leadbeater (Howdens); Zoe Hopkins (Group Leader, HYCC); Helen Cockcroft (Group Leader, #ICE;,a club for children with special educational needs and disabilities); Charlie Barr (Chair of HYCC Committee); Andrea Hodgkin (HYCC Clerk); Andy Robinson (HYCC committee member).

For further information please visit hungerfordyc.org.uk