Maria Hacking - Hindpool Community Hub

MARIA & JIM HACKING – HINDPOOL COMMUNITY HUB

Furness Rotary recently had the pleasure of welcoming guest speakers Maria and Jim Hacking, at Furness Golf Club.

Maria and Jim had been introduced to us by former president Fred Winkfield, to talk about their activities with the local Hindpool Community Hub in Barrow.

The presentation gave an insight into how the local community has its fair share of disadvantaged individuals suffering from a variety of challenges, including mental health, and how the Hub supports them

Maria began by thanking us for allowing her the opportunity to share the message as the area co-ordinator for the charity.

She went on to say how she had initially been made aware of mental health issues by her mother, who had been a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy and had witnessed such suffering in the past. This led Maria to be aware of such challenges in the community

As a church-led organisation, the Hub began after COVID in 2023 when Maria noticed that certain elements of the community, mostly the elderly, the vulnerable and those with mental health issues, appeared to need support which didn’t exist.

That prompted Maria to set up a free meals service which now operates from their premises in Nelson Street, Barrow.

Beginning with a very small number of ‘customers’ in the early days, the Hub has now grown to 12 volunteers who regularly offer free food and meals to over 50 vulnerable people each week, with some referrals from PCSOs, Age UK and others in the community

Not only do her team of volunteers give up their time to deliver this service, but Maria also pointed out that they pay for the produce themselves.

The popularity of the Hub is such that its offerings of free meals and friendship are always well attended and much appreciated by those who need the support.

The Hub also offers nostalgia tea lunches as well as confidential therapy sessions if needed. Maria shared that the forthcoming Christmas dinner service is now so popular that it’s had to be regulated by issuing tickets.

Finally, Maria reiterated that her team pay for all the produce themselves, which means the offerings are generally simple but nutritious; the Christmas dinner, however, is a full plate with all the trimmings.   

We were also told that our member Fred is a fantastic vegetable peeler!

Report by Club Secretary Brian Boyd 

Picture shows (l to r) Jim, Maria, Fred, President Peter.