Rishi has praised the volunteers who create a community hub in a Methodist Church six days a week.
The Hub at Hutton Rudby operates from the village’s Methodist Church Monday to Saturday providing a focal point for the community.
Rishi called in to meet the volunteers and the many villagers who gather there to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and an impressive range of home-made cakes.
The Hub also provides a range of activities including quizzes, games mornings, table tennis and a computer club. A popular parent pop-in session was introduced recently.
Rishi said: “This is an amazing community project, sustained entirely by the church and volunteers, which brings a huge range of people together for fun and support.
“The volunteers do a fantastic job in providing this service day-in day-out throughout the year for the benefit of the wider community and they deserve our thanks.”
John Autherson, a member of the chapel leadership team with responsibility for the hub, said it was established for eight years ago and a pool of 40 volunteers, led by part-time manager Stephanie Robinson-Hoyle, helped to keep it running.
“It has been amazing how the volunteers have come forward and sustained the operation here. It has been very successful in bringing the community together.
“We were very pleased that Rishi came to see how the hub operates on a typical day and our volunteers were very appreciative that he could come and thank them,” he added.
