A venue for the whole community to enjoy

The St Mary’s Parish Centre has been at the heart of Alverstoke’s community for 50 years.

It hosts two toddler groups, the Multiple Sclerosis society, a youth group, Zumba group, three Women’s Institutes, the Girl Guides and many others.

It’s one of the important ways that our church serves the local community – by providing a venue that can be used by all sorts of groups who may have no connection with St Mary’s.

Sadly, the building is now worn out and needs replacing, so we’d love to be able to refurbish it so that it can continue to be used.

The roof leaks, the drains are crumbling and the heating system is inadequate.

There’s also no soundproofing, which means only one room can be used at a time.

We started fundraising last year and have raised more than £11,800.

Local people have given donations, hosted coffee mornings, held events and collected change in milk bottles.

We’re really grateful for all those involved, and it’s a measure of how important the centre is to the local community that so many non-churchgoers have been willing to help.

Why not join us for our next fundraising event, which is a concert by a ukulele band, with cheese and wine served in the interval and a raffle?

It happens on May 12, from 7.30pm in the parish centre.

Tickets are £7.50.

Or you might prefer to come to the concert From Baroque to Broadway and Back, at 7.30pm on May 13.

It’s in St Mary’s Church and features Paul Pilott, Louise Helyer and friends.

Admission is free, with a collection for the parish centre regeneration fund.

And there’s a whole programme of other fundraising events on stmarysalverstoke.org.uk.

We’re also contacting local businesses to ask for their support by providing donations, raffle prizes, or sponsorship.

If you work for a company that might like to sponsor an event, do get in touch.

Or if you just want to donate something as an individual, we’d love to hear from you – and we will have some permanent record in the new building to commemorate contributions from our community.

Cheques payable to St Mary’s Parish Centre Regeneration Fund can be sent to our parish centre in Green Road, Alverstoke, PO12 2ET.

You can also call us on (023) 9258 0551.

Please also visit stmarysalverstoke.org.uk.