News
ADDING COLOUR TO THE COMMUNITY24 Jul 2007 |
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| Just over a year following its takeover by national charity Toc H, Bristol's Easton Community Centre is adding plenty of vibrancy and colour to the lives of people in the Easton area. A group of volunteers from Adelaide, Australia called Mural, Mural on the Wall, in conjunction with Bristol's Light House Church, arrived at the centre recently to help with some finishing touches by turning an ugly graffiti covered wall in the grounds of the centre into a rainbow of colours. The mural incorporated hand prints from all sectors of the community including children and the elderly. This is just one of many improvements to the centre and its extensive grounds which incorporate a play park and a flood lit all-weather football and basketball pitch. These were recently refurbished thanks to funding from Barclays. Michael Debenham, Toc H Centre Manager, said: “The last year has seen a wealth of improvements to Easton Community Centre which has transformed from a tired and rundown hall to a vibrant hub of activity for people living in the area. People meet for a variety of clubs, activities or even just to drop in for a coffee and a chat literally morning, noon and night” The Centre has been completely re-decorated and has various rooms and halls which can be hired out for meetings and parties. It also has a well-equipped IT centre with free internet access. There are classes and groups running for almost every sector of the Bristol community including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes which begin in October, young Polish readers club which offers homework and reading help, dance classes for all age groups including Bollywood. A Tae Kwon-Do group began recently and there are plans for a nail and beauty class, life skills and baby massage sessions. For younger members of the community there is the Arty Stars art club for under 4s and hip hop, modern and collaboration dance for under 5s. Toc H strives to eliminate social exclusion and particularly invests in young people. The Easton Community Centre hopes to reflect this in coming months by introducing a regular youth club where young people can get involved in enjoyable activities and at the same time experienced youth workers will help to raise awareness of personal, social, health and citizenship issues. This will include topics such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual awareness and gang culture etc. With the long school summer break looming children and young people in the Easton area may be interested in joining an activity week planned from Monday 13th August to Friday 17th August. This will include art, drama, dance, outdoor activities such as football and basketball and also trips such as cinema or bowling. During this week a barbecue is planned with a sound system so that young people can come along and chill out and people interested in becoming involved on the Easton Community Centre's advisory committee can have a chat and find out more. For more information about joining in with activities or about hiring any of the facilities at Easton Community Centre, please call 0117 954 1409. |  |