Hartlepool community hub given £10,000 by National Lottery Fund

The Women's Health Hub, in The Arches Shopping Village, Hartlepool, launched earlier this year and has since grown into a respected and active community group.

Lottie Ayres and Zoe Gardiner, who became friends after meeting at a breastfeeding clinic seven years ago, decided to set up the hub to support women and girls across the town with a range of physical and mental health issues

Zoe, currently studying a PhD in molecular microbiology, said: “The funding feels like a life line really. We’d been unsuccessful in a couple of other bids and so it’s taken significant investment from Lottie and myself to cover the cost of the rent – until now.”

Zoe and Lottie, who is a pharmacist, are going to use most of the money to secure the rent of the building and buy craft materials and other items regularly used by the duo such as cleaning equipment.

Zoe said: “Even just being able to buy a dedicated hoover instead of lugging our home ones down all of the time. It’s going to make a big difference.”

The pair also hope to use some of the money to pay for advertising so more people across the town and local areas can access their services.

The hub runs a range of workshops with charities across the town including baby yoga with Kalma Life Teesside, Menopause Cafe, a book club and the Chatty Cafe Scheme.

Zoe said: “We’ve got some groups which are running really well and we have regulars that come to multiple different sessions a week and love it, but we’d love to welcome more women through our doors, and to continue to build on what we started just over five months ago.”

She added: “Aside from the financial benefit, it also just feels amazing to have someone like the National Lottery see the need for and value in a space like the hub and to put their financial backing behind it.

"It still doesn’t quite feel real to have secured £10,000 solely for the benefit of local women and girls.”