Behind the scenes

A Google search of “volunteering in St Albans” led me to Centre 33 after my youngest daughter departed for university. I had the classic empty nest with three children gone out into the world and a husband who loves his work and shows absolutely no sign of retiring! A bit more time on my hands. Four years later and it was definitely one of the best things I ever started doing. It's great that there is a lot of flexibility. I have a busy life (even with the empty nest!) so I c

I don’t suppose many of you know why it is called Centre 33. It opened at 33 Hatfield Road in January 1977. It was for the homeless, for people coming out of the local mental hospitals which were in the process of being closed and for the lonely and deprived. HACRO (Hertfordshire Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders of which I was chairman much later on) identified the need in 1975 and was instrumental in developing the idea, funding, recruiting volunteers a