Maya’s Community Support Centre is a volunteer led organisation. From the top to the bottom everyone involved with the Community Interest Company is a volunteer. We are so successful at what we do because of the hard work, determination, compassion and dedication of our volunteers who work round the clock to deliver a wide range of services. Below explains some of the volunteering opportunities we have, if you are interested please Click Here to Get in Touch :
Ukrainian Support Hub Community Interest Company Turkey / Syria Earthquake Free Shop / Food Bank / Furniture Bank
Ukrainian Support Hub
Ever since the start of the Ukrainian conflict Maya opened her doors to the Ukrainian community. Through her community links she was able to quickly set up a support network for families arriving and those willing to host / sponsor their visas. In partnership with the local authority Maya has helped hundreds of Ukrainian families to settle and integrate into society.
This help also extends to the host families where she can not only help with communication but also any problems that arise when relationships break down. This has led to her being on call 24 hours a day at times, supporting refugees with mental health problems get the right medical assistance.
Helping the families apply for school places , benefits , jobs etc. Her community support centre hosts a weekly support group whereby local councillors , the MP, representatives from the DWP and city council officials regularly attend the meetings.
Community Interest Company
on the 16th of December 2022 Maya officially registered her charitable endeavours with Companies House as a Community Interest Company. When annual accounts are published they will be linked to from this page. Should you have any questions about the formation of Maya’s Community CIC please don’t hesitate to contact us
Turkey / Syria Earthquake
In March of 2023 Maya spearheaded a campaign for clothes and blankets to go to the Turkey / Syria Earthquake. “I was overcome with emotion seeing the streets around the café lined with people queuing up to bring donations” Beverly Hardstone (Director at Maya’s Community Support Centre). The people of Herne Bay really came together and backed Maya bringing enough donations to fill five articulated lorrys. “Seeing the amazing local support and donations kept coming and coming I had make sure that peoples donations were going to go to the people who really needed it so I took a team to the boarder of Turkey / Syria , slept in a tent with the other earth quake victims and helped unload and distribute the lorry. I wouldn’t have been able to have slept if I didn’t see with my own eyes that what we had collected was going to the right people” Maya Amangeldiyeva.
Free Shop / Community Cafe / Food Bank / Furniture Bank
As Maya was helping Ukrainian families who were coming into the area she put a clothes rail outside her cafe and locals and passers by would bring unwanted items of clothing for the Ukrainian families. This soon spread to two and then three rails. By December 2022 you couldn’t move in the Cafe for donated items of clothing which were now benefiting the entire community. A local shop (31 High Street) became available to rent and the landlord believed in what Maya and her team of volunteers was doing so offered a very competitive rent. On the 16th December 2022 a lease was agreed and the keys handed over at 9.30pm. By 9am Maya had filled the shop and it was ready open , she had worked through the night to get it ready.
Maya’s Cafe soon became a true Community Support Centre and hosted community events as well as becoming a drop in centre for a variety of different needs. It has evolved and continues to do so to suit the needs of the community. Maya began collecting surplus food from the local Co-op stores and distributing from outside the Community Cafe. As the cost of living crisis deepened its impact on those already struggling it became a vital resource. Maya would often despair at not having enough food to feed everyone and started a stock room with tins and long life items she purchased herself or with donations. December 2022 just before Christmas she put a heart felt plea for support after being overwhelmed with people contacting her desperate for food. The video was very powerful and food donations came flooding in.
Now the Food bank operates twice a day , we collect over 100 slots a week from supermarkets and have an army of volunteers helping.
October 2022 and a chance visit by a local hotel who were replacing all of their mattresses and asked if Maya knew of anyone struggling who would appreciate them. Maya found some local storage and the free furniture side of the charity was born. Now we collect unwanted furniture and deliver it locally four days a week and often have to halt collections when we have too many items kindly donated to us. 100s and 100s of families have benefited from this service, those being housed after being on the streets or those escaping domestic violence can often find we can kit out an entire apartment or house completely free of charge (from donated items).
