Rugby heroes volunteer to make over community pub

Funding for the redecoration project was provided by Santander Universities with support from the University of Brighton’s Active Student Volunteering Service which finds safe, supported and rewarding volunteering roles in the community for students and staff. The university’s Sport Brighton group also supported this three-day activity.

Bob Thrust, Treasurer for the Bevy Community Pub, said: “University of Brighton students, including the Rugby League team, have been absolutely fantastic for the past couple of years, using the pub as their local but also committing themselves to volunteering and supporting the Bevy. It has been amazing.

“In addition to the volunteer help, the funding from the Santander Make a Difference Together scheme enabled us to pay for the decorating materials we needed and that is transformational for the pub.” 

The Bevy's rugby volunteers, from the left William Strachan, Nirav Patel, Dom Smith

University rugby players joined the pub's make-over team

Ian Barnett, Volunteer Coordinator for the Bevy Community Pub, added: “We want all the different strands of the Bevendean community to come together and to recognise each other’s needs and what they want out of life. So, this is a place where that can happen.”

Dom Smith, a University of Brighton Rugby League player, said: “Volunteering in the local community adds to your CV and it’s also a great chance to meet lots of people from different walks of life. It’s also nice to have an escape from the more academic side of university at exam time.”

Susan Bentley, Volunteer Project Officer, said: “The Bevy is now an established part of the local community and, as part of that community, our students were keen to get involved in giving the community pub a much-needed make-over, so that everyone, including vital community projects such as the Friday Friends Lunch Club and the Dementia Café, can continue to use the Bevy for years to come.”