Community volunteers

09 March 2009

Two days of hard work from a dozen volunteers, led by Lucy McGrath, resulted in the Commnuity Centre becoming a space for locals of all ages to be proud of.

The Kensington Fields Community Centre project, which took place on 23 and 24 February, part of Student Volunteering week, was funded by the Junction49 project -along with support from the CARES programme and money raised by the volunteers.

The volunteers included fashion and art students who made paintings to brighten up the social centre and decorated the building’s interior. The most significant change was laying laminate flooring, which was previously a cement floor due to a flood in the hall. The centre could not afford to replace the damaged carpet, and are now hugely appreciative of the durable surface and insulation underneath, making the centre warm and welcoming.

The project received positive feedback from the local community, who said it was a vast improvement on the centre, offering a friendly space for the locals to socialise. The hall is used for all ages and many activities including after-school clubs, line-dancing, tai chi, bingo and many more.

On Wednesday the Centre held a thank you event to welcome back the volunteers and thank them personally for all their hard work. Lucy hopes to maintain the contacts she has made in order to continue their work, while some of the students wish to run art workshops and sports activities at the centre. LJMU Volunteering are hoping this will bring more volunteers into the centre to continue this good work.