Celebrities have been showing support to a Weymouth community group at risk of closure.
Big names including comedians Ricky Gervais and Steve Coogan and Manchester United Football Club have all offered their support to the Veterans Hub on Portland Road by donating signed memorabilia to auction off at an upcoming event.
The team at the Veterans Hub are throwing a black-tie event Spring Ball on Saturday, March 30, from 6pm-midnight, during which, a selection of exciting items will be auctioned off.
These items include a sapphire and gold ring, a signed Manchester United football, a vinyl signed by Ricky Gervais, five signed Steve Coogan books, cookbooks signed by Rick Stein and Paul Ainsworth, as well as a one of a kind, limited edition over-proof dark rum created by Red Crane Rum.
Andy Price, Founder of the Veterans Hub said: “This is absolutely mega, it’s brilliant.
“Ricky Gervais has been absolutely amazing, and he has been conversing directly with us.”
The event will take place at the Heckle and Squelch Comedy Club at the Army Reserve Centre in Dorchester and visitors can enjoy food and drinks whilst listening to music from the Bovington Wives Choir and the Speedway Snails.
The Veterans Hub was set up around eight years ago as a community project, with the intent of providing a safe and secure location for veterans and their families to come together in an environment that would enable them to socialise in a non-clinical setting in order to provide peer to peer support for each other.
The hub is not only for veterans, anyone can drop in if they are struggling or even just to socialise.
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All of the money raised will go towards the day-to-day running of the hub as the cost-of-living crisis hit the hub hard as ’everything has gone up,’ with it costing approximately £120,000 a year to keep the hub open.
Mr Price also revealed that during this period, that the demand for its services had ‘gone through the roof.’
However, the veteran added: “Following the Dorset Echo article, the community really stepped up in a massive way.”
Many have been undertaking their own fundraising efforts to raise money for the vital service.
Tickets to the event are £65 and include a three-course meal and entertainment for the whole evening, and can be purchased from the Veterans Hub or by emailing: theveteranshuborders@outlook.com.
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