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Current Ongoing Projects
The following projects, started in the main week of 2006, continue on to this day:
Eustace Crescent
The original project at Eustace was to clear the area of litter, rubbish and overgrowth, as well as to paint a mural on one of the walls at the Estate. The children were invited to draw designs to use on the mural, and to help set the overall theme. As painting progressed ahead of schedule, a decision was made to paint a second mural on the opposite side of the road, with a theme of Winnie the Pooh at the beach. The murals were a great success, and over-painted with special anti-graffiti paint to protect against vandalism. The week ended with a hog roast barbecue for all the residents.
The team used an empty flat on the estate as a team base. The council had already ear-marked this flat for conversion into a community flat. After the main week of August 2006 we maintained dialogue with the council about activities in Eustace, based around the community flat. As the flat was being renovated, the team did several one off special events, including carols, children's Christingle, an outdoor Christmas play as well as activities with the children the following Easter.
Eventually the community flat opened in December 2007, with a council community development worker dedicated to working from the location who was already running two after-school clubs for children. Since then a couple of Big Idea volunteers have regularly helped at these council run clubs.
With the flat open new regular activities have started, hosted by The Big Idea. These include a weekly coffee drop-in, and a parent & toddler group known as Sunbeams. These are ongoing, growing projects.
In addition to the regular activities, the team has also helped in several one-off events and in some other ways. These include providing two re-conditioned PCs and network equipment for the flat, hosting a pop quiz, and giving advice and help with a street party held in the summer of 2008.
This in turn led to the formation of a community association, with a church leader taking the chair of the management committee working with local residents to help them work to a better future on the estate. The association's first success was a second street party organised and run by the residents with some help from church volunteers.
By working with the council and other agencies from the community flat, the work is continuing well, with lots of potential for the future.
Wokingham Hospital Gardens
In the main week the gardens at the local hospital were cleared and given a good over-haul, putting in new plants and painting the garden furniture etc. Since then a team regularly keeps the gardens in trim, and has provided some new furniture and accessories. This has made the gardens a much better environment for patients, staff and visitors. In addition some volunteers also now go in on a regular basis to visit patients. |
Karl Relton, 18/06/2010 |
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