Could you join the army of volunteers in Wiltshire who contribute over 62,500 hours of work supporting their local village hall every year?

Volunteers at Wiltshire’s 250 village halls range in age from 21 to 89. If they were paid at a notional rate of £7 per hour for their efforts this would amount to £437,500 worth.

They carry out a variety of roles to help their local communities thrive, from making over 600,000 cups of tea, arranging weddings, christening parties and funeral wakes, and running numerous other events.

Many village halls are the life blood of the community, hosting post offices, community shops, coffee shops, libraries or farmers’ markets. Many social activities and vital services take place in village halls too, including fitness classes, mother and toddler groups, groups for older residents, pre-schools, discos and even doctors’ surgeries.

But Wiltshire’s village halls need more volunteers, even if they can only contribute a few hours a week.

Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), a leading rural charity, runs an information and advice service for village halls, through a network of skilled advisers.  This is delivered by Community First Wiltshire, whose Village Hall and Community Buildings Advisor is Carol Southall.

She supports village hall and community building committees throughout Wiltshire and Swindon with information, advice and training,  carries out energy audits to help reduce running costs, organises supplier fairs and networking events, and advises on a wide range of issues from funding sources to health and safety issues.

Ms Southall is running the next free village halls networking coffee morning at Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill, near Chippenham, on Wednesday, October 22, from 10-noon.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about volunteering or about advice for village halls is invited.

“Village halls and the volunteers who keep them going do a fantastic job,” she said.

“A village hall is at the heart of the local rural community and is often a hub for both social events and vital services. Some people in rural communities are unable to travel to local towns and so depend on these activities for their social life, health and well-being.

“There’s also a lot of support available for village hall committees and volunteers so please get in touch if you need advice or information or would like to know more.”

Ms Southall can be called on 01380 732818 or email csouthall@communityfirst.org.uk