A Message from our Manager.......
The Community hub has been open since mid-January and we are now starting to make great progress with a wide range of services being delivered and supported at the hub ….
We have also had several consultations events and carried out listening surveys to look at the needs of the local community and what services and programs they would like to see on at the hub which will be an ongoing process with further consultations planned for early next year .
The feedback from our consultations and surveys has formed the core part of our program which has to be balanced with the commercial aspects of running a large facility in regards to running costs and supporting core services.
The initial vision was to get the facility up and running which we have done through a dedicated group of volunteers and in particular Bill Stewart our Chairperson who has led the way and has done an amazing job to get us to where we are today….
Although the building is up and running we still have a lot of work to do as far as external groundwork, play-park, cinema and the usual snagging issue that comes with a new build are concerned. I am also working with a great group of local volunteers who meet regularly at the centre and are focused on supporting a new vision for the hub which includes the cinema, events, fundraising, youth services, training and education and the surrounding environment.
The cinema is still work in progress with the screen and picture now finished and looking amazing. We still have some work to do regarding the acoustics and sound in the main hall and will keep everyone up to date with any future developments.
The Kip Volunteers have also been very busy and have assisted in organising shows, events and fundraisers over the coming months, the first of these will be on the 14th of October 2017 when the Clyde Coast Strathspey and Reel Society are hosting the Cowal Fiddle Workshop which we are delighted to bring to Inverkip…. tickets now available at the Hub.
There will be a home baking teas and coffees and a raffle on the evening with the funds raised going towards our defibrillator for the village which should see us reach our target of £1800 so if you fancy doing some baking let us know or if you have some prizes for the raffle please hand them into the hub .
At Halloween we will be hosting some spooky events for kids and adults starting on Saturday 28th October with kids Halloween parties in the afternoon with games and prizes and in the evening we welcome our very own guest speaker Nick Kyle presenting “Startling Evidence of Life after Death!” with the second session presenting “Haunted Inverkip and It’s Witches” . Tickets will be available soon from the hub £10 for both presentations and £6 for one session this will include teas, coffees and some light refreshments.
In December we have a further two events to kick this of will be an evening with Morton legend Andy Ritchie compared by well-known Greenockian Gerry Mcdade and then finishing our first year with a magical show from the award winning magician Chris Dinwoodie ,again money raised from these event will allow us to continue to subsidise community groups and fund future projects at the hub
14th October Cowal fiddle Workshop …Tickets available now at the hub £10 Concessions £8
28th October P1 to P4 & P5 to P7 Kids Halloween Party’s
28th October Guest Speaker Nick Kyle
2nd December “An evening with Andy Ritchie and compare Gerry McDade”
29th December “A night of Magic with Chris Dinwoodie”
Young people are already accessing the facility for dancing ,table tennis, football, library, some just dropping in to access wi-fi and sit in our breakout area .This has identified the need for drop in activities for young people from Inverkip initially targeting 1st 2nd and 3rdyear pupils. This is now high on our agenda and we are looking for volunteers interested in working with this age group and can provide youth work training as part of the induction process if required.
We are also open to suggestions from parents/guardians to run activities for younger kids if they feel there is a need or demand for this and we will be happy to look at how we take this forward and support parents /guardians with any funding, training or advice to get this up and running.
Please pop in to the hub and speak to me regarding any activities, support or information I will always find the time to look at improving the services at the hub that will benefit the local community which is always the best way of communication as I’m not great with Facebook !!!.
We are also now an accredited training centre and can deliver a wide range of certificated E Learning classes from manual handling to COSHH assessments and fire safety. Partnership working will be a key factor in providing placements and allowing us to delivering training and further learning opportunities, we are working closely with West College Scotland , Inverclyde Council andInverclyde Community Development Trust which is already work in progress with three Explorer Scouts doing voluntary work for their DOE anda future Job Fund Placement starting on the 6th of September a further placement from the readiness for work project will also hopefully be in place soon.
The support from the local community has been amazing and footfall has already exceeded our initial expectations with first quarter footfall from Jan to March over 3500 and the second quarter rising to just over 6000 footfall from April to June 2017. The Library has also been a great success with an increase in users and books issued from last year with 528 books issued in July 2016 …. July 2017 at the hub the books issued increased to 945, July visitors also increasing from 462 to 1005 which is fantastic.
I am sure with your continued support and working closely with partner organisations we will continue to develop and deliver a new vision which reflects the views and aspirations of the local community.
Kevin Rodgers
Centre Manager
