22 Oct 2026
Find out more about the work of more than 60 charities and community organisations when the fourth St Albans Community Showcase returns to the Cathedral this Saturday.
Meet the people making a difference, discover local causes, explore volunteering opportunities and find new ways to get involved.
Whether your interests lie in supporting vulnerable people, protecting our environment, arts and culture, health and wellbeing, social justice, young people, sport or simply finding new ways to connect with others, there will be something to discover.
The Showcase is also a celebration of the hundreds of people who quietly give their time and energy throughout the year to make our community stronger, kinder and more connected.
For participating organisations, it is a chance to raise awareness, meet potential volunteers and supporters, and make connections with other groups working across the area.
Chrystalla Spire, a trustee with Centre 33 homeless charity, said: “The Community Showcase has been a wonderful opportunity for Centre 33 to raise awareness of our work, attract new volunteers and build connections with other local organisations.
“One particularly valuable connection was with ADD-vance, which led to an excellent neurodiversity training session for our volunteers. It was enormously worthwhile and has helped us better understand and support the people who use our services. “It’s a perfect example of how the Showcase brings organisations together and turns connections into meaningful benefits for our community.”
Local charities The OLLIE Foundation and The ADD-vance ADHD and Autism Trust will be offering workshops and support groups for families navigating neurodiversity, mental health challenges, and suicidal thoughts.
Debbie Wood, CEO of ADD-vance said: “Our mission is to champion neurodiversity and empower families of ADHD and autistic children and young people to thrive. Through understanding, embracing and celebrating neurodiversity we equip families and professionals with the strategies and knowledge they need to enable their families to flourish. As parents and carers of neurodivergent children, it is our lived experience that drives our passion.
“The OLLIE Foundation’s mission is to help prevent suicide, with a particular focus on young people, by empowering individuals and communities with the skills, confidence and understanding needed to be able to recognise distress and provide effective support to those in crisis.
“We understand how sensitive and challenging these subjects can be for both you and your child. Our joint working is to reach out and let families that they are not alone. Our sessions will signpost families to appropriate services, share helpful resources and offer suicide prevention and well-being awareness.”
David Barker, CEO of Youth Talk mental health charity, said: “For us, one of the real strengths of the Community Showcase is the opportunity it creates for conversations that might otherwise never happen as there are still many local people who simply don’t know we are here.
“Events like the Showcase give us the chance to meet parents, young people, potential volunteers, supporters and other local organisations face-to-face.
“Sometimes a simple conversation about what we do leads to someone telling a young person about our service, offering to volunteer, supporting us financially or finding another way to get involved. Those connections are hugely valuable to a small local charity like ours. Last year we met an organisation which followed onto a presentation to parents of neurodiverse children which they found really helpful.”
Jane Slater from Soroptomist International St Albans & District said: “We had a stand at the Community Showcase for the first time last year. We had many great conversations with different people during the day.
“From it we gained more support for our Orange for the World campaign and we also recruited a new member of the club following the event. We made lots of great connections with the other organisations at the event too, gaining support for the Soroptomists’ work to improve the lives of women and girls.”
Annie Stevenson, Age UK Herts’ Age-friendly ambassador for St Albans District, said: “The council has made a vital commitment to make our community a place to age well and access what we need. This will benefit people of all ages to reduce the scourge of isolation and loneliness. As I approach my seventies, my fervent hope is that our community will respect and value all older people with our wonderful services reflecting that commitment. Join the ‘sages for all ages’ and sign up to Age-friendly St Albans district!”
Tim Carroll, chair of The St Albans Community Bank, said: “We support the financial wellbeing of our members and the community. By enabling more people to access loans at fair rates and save for the future in our local area, we provide a trusted alternative to higher rate banks and back street loan sharks.”
Admission is free and there’s no need to book. Just come along to the Cathedral and explore the Showcase in the Nave on Saturday October 24 between 11am-3pm. For more information click here.
