The Green Hub Project for Teens has been awarded £5000 in funding from Godalming Town Council, in their recent of review of applications. The funds awarded will be used to finance life skills workshops for teens, as well as paying for tools and materials for supporting teens in the Green Hub garden.
Founder of the Green Hub, Tone Tellefsen Hughes, commented; “The impact of ‘lockdown’ has meant we’ve only been able to get the first teens into the garden relatively recently, but already we are seeing such amazing progress.
“Young people who have social anxiety find they have quickly made new friends with other teens facing similar pressures. Some have commented on how much they look forward to the sessions, feeling happy for the first time in months or being thrilled to have made new friends so quickly.
“We have such an amazing group of volunteers with a really wide range of skills and it really is humbling to see how it has come together after all the planning.
“We are so grateful to the members of Godalming Town Council for supporting us with funding and for showing such faith in what we are trying to achieve. Their contribution allows us to plan the next 12 months with confidence.”
Photo (L-R): Chiara Harker (Treasurer); Mireille Wildeman (Garden leader); the Mayor of Godalming Mr Michael Steel and his wife Jane, the Mayoress; Tone Tellefsen Hughes (founder of the Green Hub); Vanessa Lanham-Day (Marketing and development) and Catherine Knivett (Garden leader) with baby Olive.
Really valuable work
The award of the funds was marked by a visit from the Mayor of Godalming, Michael Steel, along with his wife, Jane, the Mayoress. Commenting on the value of the Green Hub, the Mayor said; “It’s wonderful to see community initiatives like the Green Hub doing such valuable work locally.”
As well as having been a school governor, Michael with his wife Jane have been foster carers for 12 years, so they really understand the pressures young people are facing nowadays.
He continued; “There are limited resources available to help teenagers with anxiety and the waiting time for getting help can be quite lengthy. Projects like the Green Hub are really valuable because they can step in and help straight away.”
If you think you would like to volunteer for the Green Hub, or you know a teenager who might benefit from support, go here>>
