Honiton's Community Venue, The Beehive, is on the lookout for new volunteers to support its crucial role in the town.

Opened in 2014, The Beehive has an estimated annual footfall of over 60,000 people but only one full time member of staff and four part time members.

The rest of the activities are done by volunteers, who are a critical part of keeping the centre running.

The organisation runs a programme of live events and cinema and has space for community activities, performing arts, visual art exhibitions, workshops, meetings and conferences.

Jemma Browning, The Beehive's marketing manager, described why the centre is so important for Honiton: "The Beehive is a thriving community venue, it's where people can meet.

"Entertainment and taking part in arts and cultural activities is so important for everybody's mental health. It's important to feel that togetherness with people."

Volunteers help by working at the reception desk and box office, stewarding at events, setting up rooms, projecting films, sound and lighting and working in the café bar.

The charity trustees/directors are also unpaid volunteers.

The Beehive currently has about forty volunteers, but not everybody is active. The pandemic has meant that fewer people have come forward to volunteer and more vulnerable people don't want to do it anymore.

Jemma explained: "People aren't wanting to do so much volunteering at the moment, understandably. Everybody is a bit thinly spread.

"Some people are still really cautious about the idea of being in an inside space. And we do ask our volunteers to wear masks, and that's not for everyone."

The Beehive is looking for volunteers for all positions.

Jemma explained: "We know there is a lot of people that have moved to Honiton and the surrounding areas during the last two years. It would be really good to boost our numbers so that people don't have to volunteer so often."

"It's nice to get as many people involved as possible because it is a community venue, after all."

The global pandemic meant that The Beehive had to close its doors to the public, meaning that it couldn't make any money. Jemma explained the impact of the pandemic on The Beehive: "We were shut for a long period of time, and yet the bills for operating the building didn't stop coming.

"We thank everybody so much for sticking with us and being supportive. Everyone has been fantastic."

If you are interested in volunteering, there is more information available here.

To donate to The Beehive, please [L]https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/12146[L+] click here