In a drive to raise funds we have several exciting social events in the coming months and would love to see lots of new faces.
Don’t forget to like (and share!) our Facebook page for more information on events.
Our next event will hopefully be a quiz mid to late September, theme and food to be decided but we are looking into various options for this one! Please come back later in August for further info!
School Quiz April 2024
The School Quiz was a great success, with everyone enjoying the questions from their school days, a popular raffle and buffet. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported this event. Over £400 was made which is an amazing amount!
Easter Afternoon Tea Party March 2024
We promised to let you know how our 1st Fundraiser of 2024 went- the Easter Afternoon Tea Party.
Honestly, it was great(& it’s not just us saying that!! ). The live music, good food, great company and conversation, and a happy , relaxed atmosphere which it’s impossible to capture in photos.
We’d like to say thank you to : everyone who attended, all the volunteers who helped , baked , served, to Linda & Rob for the amazing music and thank you to Duffield Co-opCroots Farm Shop & Cafe&Kale & Corn who provided prizes for the raffle . The £112.00 raised by the raffle brought our overall total to over £400.
A fantastic start towards achieving the £20k we need this year to continue running our existing activities and starting new ones.
Plenty more events to come , we hope you’ll join us at some of them 
Christmas 2023
For the festive period we had a busy and fun filled time with a Christmas quiz, Music and Mince pies and a trip to the pantomime in Buxton. All were full and enjoyed by all. Thank you for all your continued support, 2024 looks to be another busy year! Best Festive Wishes to all!
Art Exhibition November 2023
In November our Art and Crafts Group treated us to a lovely exhibition of some of their projects, some were even available to buy for early Christmas gifts. We hope to hold another in Summer next year, bigger and better! If you are interested in the group please do come down and join us!
Duffield Carnival June 2023
The minibus took a trip to the Duffield Carnival this year, with lots of information on the Charity, events and activities. The weather was nice, albeit a few heavy showers! We hope to be there next year so look out for us!
Kings Coronation May 2023
A traditional party was held here at the Weston Centre to watch the King’s Coronation. It was a memorable moment and was great to be able to join and watch together in a fully decked out hall, followed by nibbles, chatter and tea! Thanks to all those who came.
Thank you! April 2023
One of lovely volunteers nominated a regular user of the Centre for knitting lots and lots (hundreds!) of squares for the Radio Derby Make a Blanket campaign. Here they are being presented by a representative by the All Things Local magazine. Lots of others knitted squares, completed blankets and dropped them to the collection points. Such a fabulous cause, well done everyone involved!
Dementia Volunteer Talk February 2023
Sonia from the Alzheimer’s Society Charity and came to give an informal talk on dementia for our volunteers. Lots of information to take on board, hopefully we will be able to offer another in the future and to extend to a larger group.
Volunteer Event February 2023
February was time to celebrate all the volunteers and those who are connected to The R J Weston Duffield Charity, as without the support from everyone the charity and activities just wouldn’t by here! What a better way to celebrate than to hold a party and drinks! Some special awards given out too, including Jean who has lead the Lunch Club for 30 years, hope you enjoyed your afternoon tea at Chatsworth. Thank you everyone, your tireless support is worth so much.
Cyber Safety Talk February 2023
On Tuesday 21st February we welcomed Samantha Hancock, Derbyshire Police Cyber Protect Officer, to the Weston Centre. She presented a brilliant talk about how to protect ourselves against scams and keep safe online. She gave us much to think about and many helpful strategies so that we can engage in the digital world with increased confidence. Copies of her slides and information given can be obtained by emailing emma.wcm@westoncentre.org.uk.
Autumn and Christmas Events 2022
The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022
In the Autumn and Christmas 2022 we had a number of quiz and music events. Again these were such good fun, thank you so much for attending and supporting us, we had a great time and we hope everyone did too. These helped raise a lovely amount of money and raise awareness of the charity.
We were delighted to welcome so many people to the Weston Centre during the Christmas Challenge Week. The week was book-ended by Saturday evening music from Tom Brooksby on 30th November and our Christmas Quiz on 3rd December. Special thanks to everyone who contributed including Tom for entertaining us American style, Angelo’s Bistro for catering, members of Duffield Singers for leading a Christmas sing-song, Jan for his musical accompaniment, Paul for singing in the rain (not literally), Sandra and Delyth for screening two very different films, David for organising two minibus trips and being a very tough quiz master, and everyone who came along. We hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did.
We would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who supported us in our Big Give Christmas Challenge to raise funds for Duffield Helping Hands. The terrific news is that we smashed our target and raised a total of £14, 442.96. This has been tremendous community effort for which we are enormously grateful. The real work starts now.
Supper quiz We are sure there will be plenty of friendly competition at the quizzes. Do you fancy your chances? Bring your friends and form a team!
We are delighted to be hosting our first musical events. The GRK Collective are a sought-after duo based in Greater Manchester. They are bound to get your toes tapping or even tempt you to dance to covers of popular songs from the 1950s. Why not check them out on Facebook under Georgia Rae K?
Tom Brooksby, front man in ‘Glory Days’ Springsteen tribute band, and seasoned solo performer, is well-known nationally for his magnetic performances. You might have seen him front ‘The Sensational Hot Rocks Band’ at this year’s carnival on Eye’s Meadow. He will be treating us to an acoustic set of well-known Americana. This is one not to be missed! Tom regularly sells out much larger venues so be sure to get your tickets early. You can listen to him on Apple Music and Spotify for a taste of what will be in store.
Christmas Quiz We are looking forward to an early festive opportunity on 3rd December when David will challenge us with a range of questions on a festive theme. Why not bring a team, decorate your table (and yourselves!) and enjoy your favourite nibbles by bringing your own Christmas foodie treats?
2022 Events
Queens Platinum Jubilee
On Wednesday 1st June we welcomed more than 40 people to our tea party in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Our guests shared memories and enjoyed photos of the last 70 years along with poems from Paul and a musical contribution from David who was a chorister at the Queen’s wedding to Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey. Larry brought his Coronation Medal awarded for his service as a police officer on the Mall on Coronation Day. As ever, sincere thanks to the team of dedicated volunteers who ensured that the event was such as success.
From March 2020 to June 2021 we ran Duffield Coronavirus Support (DuCS) to help those who found themselves isolated by the coronavirus pandemic. This work was recognised by a Derbyshire Beacon of Hope Award in July 2021.
In March 2021 we were delighted to support Duffield Community Association’s campaign to ensure every home in the village is within 400m of a defibrillator by installing a defib outside the Centre.
In November 2021 we ran a week of events for the whole community called Connecting, Celebrating and Moving Forward Together. These were supported by the National Lottery Local Connections Fund and sought to bring volunteers, beneficiaries, local community groups and members of the public together to mark the tremendous community spirit demonstrated during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
We have served the residents of Duffield for thirty years. In November 2020 we acquired a minibus which we use to support our own activities and also make available for hire by local groups.
We are eager for more people to join us, use our facilities, and benefit from our expanding range of activities.
We would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to join our team of volunteers so please get in touch if you have time to spare and are looking for exciting and valuable ways you can contribute to your community.
