We want to take a moment to say an enormous THANK YOU to each and every one of our incredible volunteers on our two projects: Havens Food Cooperative and Havens Connections Cafe and our legacy projects Havens Community Cars CIO and Havens Happy Clubs
Whether you give your time every week or just when you can, your kindness, dedication, and hard work make a real difference. You are the heart of what we do- showing up with smiles, helping hands, and a spirit of community that inspires us all.
From behind-the-scenes support to front-line roles, we simply couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for being brilliant. We appreciate you more than words can say!
#VolunteerAppreciation #ThankYouVolunteers #CommunityChampions #Volunteersweek2025
Today, the dedicated volunteers of Havens Community Cars were honoured in a special celebration to mark their receipt of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service the highest honour a local voluntary group can receive in the UK (equivalent to an MBE).
The event was made even more special with the presence of the Vice Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Mr Graham Peters, Deputy Lieutenants Amanda Hamblin and Juliet Olsworth-Peter and the Mayor of Newhaven- Kim Bishop, who joined the team to recognise and celebrate the incredible impact the volunteers have on their local community.
The award highlights the commitment of the Havens Community Cars team, who give their time to support vulnerable and isolated residents across the Havens area by providing safe, friendly, and reliable transport to essential appointments and services.
“This award is a reflection of the care, compassion, and community spirit that our volunteers demonstrate every day,” said Paula Woolven Chair of Trustees for Havens Community Cars. “We are proud and deeply grateful for each and every one of them.”
For more information about Havens Community Cars and how to become a volunteer visit: https://www.havenscommunityhub.co.uk/communitycars
To make a donation to support the project, visit: https://localgiving.org/charity/havenscommunitycarscio
Do you have a passion for people, great food, and community spirit? Havens Connections Café is looking for a friendly, organised and motivated Assistant Manager to help us lead our welcoming, community-focused café in the heart of Newhaven.
This isn’t your average café job – it’s a chance to be part of something special. You’ll be supporting day-to-day operations, coordinating volunteers, and helping create a space where everyone feels welcome.
To apply please email dawnhavenshub@gmail.com for an application pack or collect a pack from the Café.
The much-loved comedy collective Brighton Belles has been shortlisted for the Mid Street Lab Community Award at this year’s Brighton Fringe Festival- a well-deserved recognition for their outstanding community spirit and impact.
This year, the group raised over £500 for our project Havens Food Cooperative, a local initiative tackling food insecurity and promoting sustainability. The award celebrates events that engage with, benefit, and reflect local communities- and Brighton Belles ticks every box.
Thank you Brighton Belles!
The nomination highlights how laughter can be a powerful tool for connection and change.
Following the recent cyber attack that disrupted supermarket supply chains across East Sussex, the Havens Food Cooperative project has stepped up and rescued and redistributed tons of surplus food over the past week.
The cyber attack, which affected several major supermarket chains nationally, led to mass disruption in stock deliveries. But as deliveries resumed and shelves were restocked, a significant amount of short-dated stock was suddenly at risk of going to waste. That’s when Havens Food Cooperative stepped in.
Over a whirlwind 72 hours, volunteers from Havens Food Cooperative collected daily vanloads of surplus food from supermarkets in the local area which had been left with crates of perishable items due to the backlog.
"We were notified by one store’s representative on Tuesday morning that they had an unexpected glut of food with limited shelf life - a knock-on effect of the cyber attack recovery process," said Rebecca Woolven, Manager of the Havens Food Cooperative Project “By Tuesday afternoon our team of volunteers had mobilised to collect and redistribute the first of what turned out to be three days of urgent collections.”
The surplus included tons of fresh fruit, vegetables, and bakery items. Working swiftly, the team sorted and distributed the food using their daily community pantry and network of local community partners, including local projects, groups and community cafes. Rebecca added: “This is exactly why our project is here. We have the vehicles, the volunteers, and the connections to move food fast. When waste becomes a risk, we can collect it from local stores and use it to support the community quickly.
Thanks to the efforts of Havens Food Cooperative, tons of food was saved from landfill and redistributed to support indiviudals, families and groups in the community- fighting waste and feeding the community.
Want to help?
Havens Food Cooperative relies on donations and volunteers to continue its vital work.
To make a donation: https://localgiving.org/charity/havenscommunityhub
To find out more & get involved: www.havenscommunityhub.co.uk
We are thrilled to be part of the Lewes District Local Lottery, which helps raise funds for various good causes in the Lewes district. With each ticket priced at just £1, we receive 50p for every ticket sold, making a real difference together.
Not only do you get a chance to support our cause, but you also have a 1 in 50 chance of winning fantastic prizes, including a grand prize of £25,000!
Don't miss out! Head over to: https://www.leweslocallottery.co.uk/.../havens-community...
to purchase your tickets and help us make a positive impact in our community. Every little bit helps, and together we can achieve so much! Thank you for your support!
Families across the Havens can enjoy big savings this summer with the “Kids Eat for £1” offer at Havens Connections Café. Running weekdays from 10am to 3pm, the scheme provides children with a hot, nutritious meal or a takeaway lunch box for just £1 and there’s no minimum spend required.
Launched in August 2024 and running throughout the year, the initiative is part of the café’s mission to support families during the cost-of-living crisis. “We know many families are struggling,” said Café Manager Julia Dunstan. “This is about easing some of that pressure. Children can get a healthy, tasty lunch at a price that’s affordable.”
Located in Hillcrest Community Centre, the café is known for its warm atmosphere and fresh, kid-friendly meals like jacket potatoes, sandwiches, and daily specials.
The café also offers a pay-it-forward scheme, allowing visitors to donate meals for others facing food insecurity, or access meals themselves.
Yesterday we were pleased to welcome Kelvin from Rampion Wind Energy and Pete from Sussex Community Foundation at our Havens Connections Café. We have been very grateful to have been supported by Rampion through the Sussex Community Foundation for the past year, and they have been a huge support to our project Havens Food Cooperative, which prevents up to 3 tonnes of food every week from being wasted, instead redistributing this to the community, and harnessing surplus to create healthy and delicious meals in our new community café!
You can read more about their visit here:
The Spring Edition of Havens Happenings, our quarterly newsletter is now available to read:
To sign up to receive these quarterly newsletters all you need to do is go to our website, and insert you details to the 'Subscribe to Havens Happenings Newsletters' section on the homepage.
We’re delighted to share that Havens Connections Café has been named a finalist in the Best Customer Service category at the Seahaven Business Awards 2025!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past seven months. It’s been such a joy to welcome so many of you through our doors, and being recognised in this way means the world to Julia and the café team.
Your continued support truly makes all the difference — thank you!
Thank you to the team at David Jordan Estate Agents for spotlighting our projects and helping us spread the word about Havens Food Cooperative and Havens Connections Café. We had the team visit us and make this little video about us and how to support the projects of the Hub.
Havens Connections Café are looking for passionate volunteers to join our small but friendly team.
If this sounds like the ideal role for you, do not hesitate to get in touch. For more information or to apply, please email havensconnectionscafe@gmail.com
On Monday 28th April there is a Quiz Night in aid of Havens Community Hub and its projects is being held at the EBM Centre in Peacehaven, at 7pm! The EBM Centre will have delicious basket meals available to purchase on the night as well!
Book your tickets now for a fun evening of trivia at:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/vqyqrbabyzzw
Just £5 a ticket, and teams of up to 6 people!
Havens Food Cooperative is pleased to announce that the project is no longer closing its doors and ceasing its primary food collection operations from March 23rd 2025.
The decision earlier this month was made to close down the project and its key food waste prevention activities, due to the lack of funding available to support its current operations. Securing financing and accessing grants had become a perfect storm for the project. But since this decision was made the public show of support has been heart-warming and humbling and we were encouraged by supporters to make a final attempt to accrue the funds needed to continue operations and save the Havens Food Cooperative Project.
We needed £30,000 to continue the projects operations on a basic level until September 2025. The Save the Havens Food Cooperative Campaign to date has raised £16,840 and this week we have received the brilliant news that a local funder has offered up to £15,000 match funding for this campaign in order to assist our goal. We are very grateful for all the support of the wonderful local community, individuals and businesses and of course the local funder who has made an incredible contribution.
We are so pleased to be sharing this much more positive news with the community.
We will be leaving the Save the Havens Food Cooperative Fundraising Campaign open as any funds we continue to receive will enable us to strengthen the project and support its development going forward beyond September 2025.
An exciting opportunity has opened up for an organised and community-minded individual to join the team, at Havens Connections Café.
For an application pack contact dawnhavenshub@gmail.com or collect a pack from the Havens Connections Café, Hillcrest Centre, Bay Vue Road, Newhaven, BN9 9LH
Following the news from Founder of the Havens Community Hub, Paula Woolven, that the Havens Food Cooperative lacked the funds for the next sixth months to continue operations, there has been an overwhelming response from the community and a collective drive to keep the project running.
Please see our fundraiser which was started to raise the needed funds for the project to continue operating for the next 6 months:
We appreciate all the support of our donors and thank everyone for this fantastic and overwhelming response:
Donate here:
https://localgiving.org/fundraising/savethefood?fbclid=IwY2xjawI9PwZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQGY489M057HyJeSPuyruhmHPTA8wrC2F-99jdjXMfbfUHfoappI-sBmBw_aem_35h-Yyj-aVB4JoPrXSpV8A
Thank you to the Co-op in Peacehaven who let us visit their store last week and promote our cause in the community.
Don't forget that this year Havens Community Cars have been selected as one of the Co-ops Supported Causes and you can help support us by selecting us as your chosen cause using your Co-op Membership Card!
Simply use the Co-op app or the link below, sign in and select Havens Community Cars.
https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/88034...
Thank you!
A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers this past weekend for their incredible efforts in rescuing a fantastic amount of food!
One standout moment was saving over 20 crates of oranges from a single store.
Thanks to the collaboration of our partner stores and the dedication of our volunteers, an incredible 1,575 oranges—weighing approximately 189kg—were rescued and redistributed, equating to £406.35 worth of surplus food!
The last few bags of oranges were distributed at our Community Pantry today!
To help us continue making food rescues like this possible, please consider making a monthly donation. Just £10 a month could help cover fuel costs for our surplus food collections, ensuring more good food reaches those who need it.
Every contribution makes a real difference—fighting waste, feeding the community, and protecting the environment.
Donate here: https://localgiving.org/charity/havenscommunityhub
On Sunday, 9th February 2025, Havens Community Hub was featured on BBC Politics South East, shining a spotlight on the vital role of volunteers and the charities that serve as a safety net for our communities.
The segment, filmed by journalist Marcella Whittingdale, highlighted the incredible work of the Hub’s projects, including:
Havens Connections Café– a space for social connection and support
Havens Food Cooperative– a food waste prevention initiative tackling food insecurity
Havens Happy Clubs– a support service for older adults
Havens Community Cars– a volunteer-led transport service
A Call for Greater Support for the Voluntary Sector
During the broadcast, an important discussion unfolded about the crucial role of voluntary organisations and how local and national authorities could do more to support them. The segment emphasised that:
· These initiatives are lifelines for individuals and families, providing essential services like food access, social opportunities, and transport.
· Their success is powered by dedicated volunteers who give their time and energy to make a difference.
· Despite their impact, many causes struggle with funding and resources, making long-term sustainability a challenge.
The “Upside-Down” Approach to Community Development
Paula Woolven, Founder and CEO of Havens Community Hub, spoke about the Hub’s unique “upside-down” method of community development. Unlike traditional top-down approaches, the Hub starts by identifying real needs within the community before developing innovative, sustainable initiatives to address them.
This approach ensures that every project is rooted in genuine community demand, creating long-lasting solutions that truly make a difference. The BBC South East feature showcased how this grassroots model has successfully shaped essential local services, demonstrating the power of people-led change in the Havens area, East Sussex.
To watch the segment visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000dk0t/politics-south-east
To get involved with the Hub and its projects view: https://www.havenscommunityhub.co.uk/ or contact havenscommunityhub@gmail.com
A heartfelt thank you to the Sussex Association of Bonfire & Carnival Societies for hosting their annual Carol Service each December. Each year, a different bonfire society takes on the role of chairing the service, and for Christmas 2024, this went to South Heighton Bonfire Society. The chairing society selects local causes to receive the church collection, and we were delighted and grateful that they chose Havens Community Hub for this event. We truly appreciate their support and generosity.
