Whiteley Community Association Vacancies

[Woody]

whiteleycommunityassociation@hotmail.co.uk

The Committee of the Whiteley Community Association currently has several vacancies for trustees.
Examples of positions available include Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary or general Trustee.
All applicants for these voluntary positions must live in Whiteley and be prepared to attend meetings on a monthly basis. Some experience in the voluntary sector would be advantageous but is not essential. Please contact the Whiteley Community Centre on 01489 880041 or via our web site http://www.whiteley-community.co.uk for further details or to express your interest.

[Woody]

Come on, someone must want to get involed in their local community?
Apparently no-one has contacted WCA to date. Thats really shocking. People seem happy to moan but no-one is willing to give up some time to keep a well utilised local resource going.

[Dragon Fire]

If I felt the Community Association genuinely was of benefit to the community I'd volunter but unfortunately I feel it is simply a commercial money making activity which I am not prepared to offer time to FOC.

As an example I was looking for a location for our Chess Club to meet a few years back. Now Chess Clubs never have any money and are certainly not a commercial activity and offer a genuine community service but the centre wanted to charge us about £35 per week (7.30pm to 11.00 pm was the required time and I can't remember now if the finishing time was acceptable) or £1820 per annum when the club could afford a maximum of £350 to £400. They were totally inflexible on this and failed to grasp that these were valuable community activities not commercial ones.

This would have forced us to increase our annual subscriptions to a level totally unaffordable for our pensioners and younger members although I doubt even those who could afford £200+ per annum would have continued as members.

If the Community Centre cannot encourage and support these sort of community activities then what is the point of it. I know a number of other chess clubs play at their community centre (eg Cosham) and they certainly do not pay £35 a night.

[Woody]

I feel it is simply a commercial money making activity

I am sorry you had a bad experience with WCC.
I can assure you that it is not a commercial money making enterprise.

The rates are available on the website:
http://www.whiteley-community.co.uk/data/whiteleyc.nsf/TheCentrePage!OpenForm

It is actually a Registered Charity: 1062300 and according to the books it just about breaks even each year. The facilities do cost money to run, staff, maintain etc. Costs are kept as low as possible through grants and fund raising. The rental charges are also competative with other centres such as the Meadowside.

All the best

Woody

[Dragon Fire]

The rates are available on the website:
http://www.whiteley-community.co.uk/data/whiteleyc.nsf/TheCentrePage!OpenForm

and unfortunately wholly unaffordable for the sort of activity mentioned which is a community service whereas the sort of facilities offered (eg. nurseries) are commercial money making enterprises. I have no problem with this as it is what they should be and if the governement wishes to encourage and subsidise such activities to make them affordable to the lower paid then that is OK and there are plenty of grants available for that.

My point is that genuine community services that provide opportunities for the young and old to do things at a modest cost are detered because the centre tries to make money out of these activities. Rather it should charge the commercial operations more and only ask a modest price, if anything, for community facilities, clubs and services.

Activities that get the young and their beer cans off the streets and give the poor and elderly an opportunity to get out of the house should be provided FOC.