Fr Michael gave me one great example of how listening with sensitivity and openness can bring about unexpected changes. Like most parishes, there was a vague feeling that they were not doing enough for young people, and an assumption that they should start some kind of youth club, which reflected another unspoken assumption that young people wanted to be alone together – isolated within their peer group, and cut off from other relationships with their parents, older or younger siblings, parishioners, neighbours etc.

But when, as part of this project, they actually started asking families what the young people really wanted/needed (I know these are not always the same thing), the answer was: a family evening. Not to stop young people gathering together with their peers; but to allow them to do that in a context where the whole family could be together as well, and where other families – and parishioners and neighbours – could spend time together. So they did it. And it worked!

This is from Caroline Hurst’s blog-post:

On Friday 5th August a group of volunteers arrived at the Community Centre a little apprehensive but very excited, waiting to see what the opening night of  Family Friday’s would hold.

It turned out that well over 50 people came down to the centre and the atmosphere was brilliant. Young people were out playing games on the field, people were playing table tennis and pool. The hot dogs were very well received and tasted great (so I am told) and the tuck shop also went down brilliantly with old and young alike! Adults were catching up with one another and young people were either joining in with their families, playing games or sitting having their own conversations. It was fantastic to see people interacting together so freely and the concerns about ages and parents being around appeared to be unfounded as a good time was had by all.

There were people of all ages there from under 5′s to over 60′s and the interactions were wonderful to see. Several people remarked on the night and since how surprised at the numbers and the success of the evening. All we can hope is that Family Fridays continue to grow and develop. When term time starts up hopefully the word will start to spread and that  even more people will interested in coming and seeing what is on offer of Family Friday’s down at Holy Trinity Community and Partnership Centre.

The peer group is important. And young people need space and a certain privacy. But they also value the security of knowing that parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbours, etc are around. In the right context, there can be a magical balance of freedom and belonging in this kind of environment.

You see this, if you are lucky, when extended families get together, and cousins chase around together while aunties and uncles sit and put the world to rights.

You see this in Lourdes, when part of the joy for young people is spending time with the elderly, loving them for who they are, and also being able to escape in their own groups later in the day.

You see this, sometimes, in village schools, where because of the lack of numbers, children are not isolated within their own age group, but have to share a classroom with those younger and older than themselves, with the result that all sorts of relationships can flourish that would be impossible in a single year group.

I know there are problems as well; I just think we should be a bit more critical of the hidden assumption that the deepest desire of everyone between the ages of 11 and 18 is to get away from anyone who isn’t their age.

[I'm just piecing this all together from a quick conversation with Fr Michael. If anyone from the parish wants to say more about the listening process behind the family nights - please do add your thoughts in the comments below].

Very informal, just to discuss ideas.

Thought this link might be helpful

http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/rcs/ruralcommunityshops.cfm

If you can’t make the meeting but you are interested please drop Bill an email. Bill.Booth@coopersedgecommunitygroup.co.uk

August has been the best month so far of the Neighbourhood Challenge. It’s just been so busy, we had the follow up meeting about the S106 and there are some really positive things going on in the community, and we’re organising our first Coopers Edge Action Day – http://wp.me/p1nESX-3v

There has been an activity every week in Coopers Edge throughout August, we had a good mix of events provided by outside groups (like the play rangers) but also some brilliant events organised by local residents like the community art day and treasure hunts.

We have also seen the first matches of the Cooper Edge Cricket Club and some people have also started to try and setup a football club. It’s really great to see more ideas starting to evolve.

Q: What are the most challenging things you’ve faced so far and why?

Our challenges are similar to last month however and the running of the summer programme along with driving forward the section 106 issues and implementing the challenge prize & seed funding remains a difficult balancing act.

Q: How have the community been involved in the project set up so far?

The great thing about the activity programme has been the number of people who have helped our with events, and the positive ideas that have come out of the S106 meeting like arranging the action day are helping get more and more people involved. The response to Coopers Den has been really positive and some of the ideas that people have been discussing on Facebook are really exciting and interesting.

Q: Has anything surprising happened, within or around your project so far?

August has been a really fun month; there have been some really pleasant surprises, like how many people have been coming to events like the play rangers. It’s great to see so many people enjoying themselves.

Hi Folks, the first Coopers Edge Clean Up Action Day is going to take place on the 24th September, starting at 10am from the bus stop near the T junction. It is basically going to consist of picking up the litter – womble style. As such we will need a number of team leaders to help with the organisation and a host of volunteers to pick the litter – the more the merrier. Hopefully it will show what a pro-active bunch we are and that we want to take charge, pride and care of our environment and our community in a positive way.

If you can help out in any capacity or got any suggestions about the litter hot spots please get in touch.

We also aim to be able to have some refreshments available in the community centre for volunteers so if you not able to help outside but would not mind doing this that would be good also.

We will provide gloves and litter pickers and other equipment.

Thanks

Peter

pete.miller@tesco.net

The team won their first game last week in a mid week friendly against Bharat Sports, watch this space for scorecard information once I have resolved some technical issues!

The final friednly of the season will be played against Shurdington at their home ground next Wednesday the 24th August. If anyone is interested in joining the team and playing next week please contact Alan Shackell on 07740 359959 or email: alan.shackell@coopersedgeschool.co.uk, alternatively if you just want to come down and watch please feel free.

On Wednesday there is another one of the very popular treasure hunts, starting from 10am at the community centre – under 11′s must be accompanied by an adult.

On Thursday we have the first ever Coopers Edge Community Art Day. Pottery, Banner Art and lots of fun. Under 7’s to be accompanied. Please wear old clothes as we will be using paints etc.

Then on Saturday it’s the big one, from 11 till 3. Hope to see you all on the green opposite the kissing gate. Bouncy castles for toddlers & youngsters, circus skills, play rangers. Bring yourself and your family & friends – let the kids have fun & bring a picnic blanket or chair & chill out with good company. Its FREE.

Also weather permitting there will be family photography available from Will Davis, local photographer, contact him via his website for costs and what slots are available. Please not this maybe rearranged if the weather is poor.

On Thursday we have the first ever Coopers Edge Community Art Day. Pottery, Banner Art and lots of fun. Under 7’s to be accompanied. Please wear old clothes as we will be using paints etc.

Then on Saturday it’s the big one, from 11 till 3. Hope to see you all on the green opposite the kissing gate. Bouncy castles for toddlers & youngsters, circus skills, play rangers. Bring yourself and your family & friends – let the kids have fun & bring a picnic blanket or chair & chill out with good company. Its FREE.

Also weather permitting there will be family photography available from Will Davis, local photographer, contact him via his website for costs and what slots are available. Please not this maybe rearranged if the weather is poor.

The Temporary Community Centre is beginning to evolve as the hub we had anticipated and hoped for. Stay & Play sessions have been established with a strong turnout & additional family time activities are just starting. Several group activities are beginning as well as some core health and welfare & debt advice service sessions. We have a month packed with summer activities to bring people together and all generated through external support, fundraising & volunteering. Section 106 issues have been dominating local interest and especially as several triggers have been missed by statutory authorities & developers. The focus is now on galvanising the passion & energy following a Public Meeting attended by over 80 residents. The connections and relationships that are being forged are an important platform for our challenge prize launch.

Q: What are the most challenging things you’ve faced so far and why?
As our development is starting from scratch the need to work at a high pace to meet the challenge milestones is most pressing. The community has a strong appetite around section 106 and due to the lack of core facilities & infrastructure in the locality. The accumulation of issues whilst implementing the challenge prize & seed funding is a difficult balancing act.

Q: How have the community been involved in the project set up so far?
Community engagement has been building steadily and the bank of volunteers is growing and predominantly centred around the community hub. We have secured external funding to conduct a community consultation exercise to address the lack of local resident core knowledge. This will add value to the challenge programme and aid us in our prize scheme launch

Q: Has anything surprising happened, within or around your project so far?

The strength of turnout at a recent Public Meeting was slightly unexpected & the relationships and conversations that are evolving as a consequence are very encouraging in terms of fostering a community identity and spirit.

Please find attached details of the summer holiday programme.

Events July 2011

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Are you interested in joining the newly formed Coopers Edge Cricket Club? We are looking for new members (playing and non-playing) as we start up with a view to playing a few friendly matches this year and joining a midweek 20 over league next summer.

We will be starting as a midweek 20 over team with games likely to be played on Wednesday evenings. Our first friendly is the 3rd of August. If you are interested contact Alan Shackell on 07740 359959 or email: alan.shackell@coopersedgeschool.co.uk

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Finally after what seems like a very long time since we got the funding (about three months) the Temporary Community Centre will be ready next week. There are a few photos of the ‘work in progress’ below.

If you interested in running an event, group or club please get in touch, we want it to be a resource for the community, rather than an empty building. We have a few limitations – there are a couple of martial arts the insurance won’t permit, but from pilates to parent and toddler, art groups to Spanish classes, we’d love it if people come forward with ideas and things they want to run.

We have a couple of things coming up in the next few days, some help getting the place setup on Sunday and a Stay and Play on Friday 17th. Check the Facebook group for event details:- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14166659235&v=photos&ref=ts#!/group.php?gid=14166659235

Thanks for everyone’s support and help with the community group so far, and hopefully the temporary community centre will become a big success.

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So far the response to our project seems to have been overwhelmingly positive. The key group members have been given a boost by the support from NCVO and the funding has allowed us to begin an exciting journey which will take us down paths previously unavailable to a group with no income.

The fete was a huge success, combining a celebration of success with an information-giving event for members of the community who are new or have not heard about what we are doing. Bill, our community-organiser was in attendance and was able to meet lots of people and hopefully start lots of positive relationships.

It was great to have so many new volunteers involved in planning the day, and we were overwhelmed with offers of help on the day. Thanks so much every body! (Though it would have been great if someone could have stopped the wind!)

The temporary community centre is almost ready… and that is so exciting for us all!

2. What are the most challenging things you’ve faced so far and why?

One of the hardest things has been the amount of extra time that has been required. In the initial stages there has been a lot of administration which is tome consuming. The application to become a registered charity, a lot of administration the Neighbourhood challenge work stream, completing surveys and even writing blog entries!

While we respect these things are really important, they can feel like the less fun tasks take precious time away from ‘on the ground’ activities. Hopefully new volunteers that love admin will come forward!

One of the big challenges we face is that as a predominantly voluntary group the hours people give are their precious personal time (often giving up hours will families and children). When someone asks for last minute additional information, or changes a plan and we need to respond immediately that means someone giving up there evening, or lunch break to meet a deadline and that can be really hard. It’s something that local authorities, media and others really need to think about with the advent of the big society – if people are volunteering they are likely to be doing it in outside work hours. As such they need adequate time manage those tasks. Its not like when you at work and can be asked to drop everything as your getting paid.

3. How have the community been involved in the project set up so far?

We are gathering new ‘active’ members all the time, with new people coming forward to take on roles such as running the newsletter, taking surveys, organising fundraising etc.

4. Has anything surprising happened, within or around your project so far?

Completing the research project for Icarus has enabled us to talk to community members in a focussed manner, drawing out information which we might never have gained. This has led to offers of help from people who might never have otherwise realised how they can contribute. Individual ideas from community members have started to come through which are really nice to see and people are taking responsibility for organising their own activities (someone has set up some guided walks).

The theme of the day was ‘involving and inspiring new people’, and activities were a mix of peer-to-peer exchange along with facilitated workshops on specialist aspects of engagement.

NCVO facilitated the morning session and opened up the day by asking everyone to share their own experiences of getting involved in community led action. We found that there were a huge number of different  motivations for involvement even in our small group.