Elizabeth (Buffy) Williams and Canolfan Pentre

Elizabeth ‘Buffy’ Williams is the general manager of Canolfan Pentre - a community centre primarily run by volunteers, who serve the community of Pentre and the Rhondda Valley. In 2015 she led the takeover of a closed venue and turned it into Canolfan Pentre – a centre that provides support to individuals and families throughout the Rhonnda Valleys by offering after school clubs, food poverty relief, parent and toddler groups friendship groups. ‘Buffy’ has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to develop the centre to include a mental health facility and multi-age play area where children of all ages can play safely. Flooding is another big concern for the community and Buffy secured funding to pay for flood gates for each of the 160 houses affected – offering peace of mind to those living in the affected area.

Throughout the past year Buffy has coordinated a community response to the pandemic from Canolfan Pentre, organising 100 packed lunches a day for children and families, as well as Busy Bags and Mindfulness bags to help people pass the time during lockdown. The centre has delivered over 20,000 packages to residents in the Rhondda.