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Staff at The Kentish Town Community Centre celebrate the Big Lottery funding boost |
£500,000 lottery win for community centre
Cramped facility plans to expand with funds boost
YOUTH services in Kentish Town are set for a major boost after scooping a £500,000 lottery grant for an extensive and “desperately needed” building project.
The Kentish Town Community Centre (KTCC) was awarded the Big Lottery funding to enlarge its premises in Busby Place and provide a dedicated space for teenagers in the area.
But the grant comes with a caveat: community centre bosses must raise a further £300,000 in match funding if the development is to get the green light.
Centre manager Justina Forristal hailed the award and implored Camden residents and businesses to help them meet the target.
“There is no space for young people to go in Kentish Town,” she said.
“We are the only people doing that completely open-door type work and it’s essential. We have run out of space in our building as it currently stands, and this grant will enable us to provide a desperately needed dedicated space for young people.
“It’s going to make a huge difference. It’s still in the balance, but we’re very hopeful. By expanding what we can do for young people we can do more for the whole community.”
As well as the youth club, the centre already hosts play sessions for the under-fives, drama and IT classes, deaf advice, a police drop-in surgery and after-school activities, and much of it staffed by local volunteers. A music project and a memories group for sufferers of early stage dementia are also planned.
But at the moment everything must be packed away between meetings due to the lack of space.
“We’re turning activities away because we don’t have the space,” added Ms Forristal.
Trustee Jerry Williams, who remembers when the community centre provided luncheons for the elderly during the 1970s and 80s, said: “It’s becoming harder and harder to find funding, but local people just get on with it, even if you’re getting less and less cloth to make the same garment.”
To find out more about how to support the centre or to make a donation, contact the Kentish Town Community Centre on 020 7482 3212. |
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