More cake? Don't mind if I do...

You may have seen the posters advertising that we are holding a Special General Meeting at 3pm next Sunday, 29th January, at St Andrew’s Church. Besides being another opportunity to come and eat cake with us, the meeting is being held in order to wind up the Dean Court Community Centre Association (DCCCA) and set up the Dean Court Community Association (DCCA), which will be a charitable company. The change may mean one less “C” but that carries a whole lot more meaning. The Association is about more than just a building; it is about a whole community – one that will be centred on the vibrant new Dean Court Community Centre.

The new structure will give us more credibility with other organisations and allow us to move forwards. There are also implications for membership and the way the company would be dissolved if necessary. The central aim of growing our community in Dean Court remains unchanged and we very much hope that you will join with us in moving forwards into a new phase! Please do come along if you can, as we want to represent the whole community.

Our full January newsletter can be found here.

The draft constitution of the proposed charitable company is based on standard 'models' for our type of organisation and can be found here.

DCCCA scoops £6,275 NatWest CommunityForce Award

Members of the Dean Court Community Centre Association (DCCCA) are celebrating after winning a £6,275 NatWest CommunityForce award towards the rebuild of a burnt-out community building .

In July 2011 NatWest launched CommunityForce, a new initiative to help support local charities, organisations and groups to raise publicity for their work and attract volunteers. The programme also provided the opportunity for three groups in each of the bank’s 131 CommunityForce areas to win awards of £6,275 each. Organisations and charities applied for awards during the summer and an online public vote took place to decide which three organisations in each area would receive the awards.

Over 5,000 eligible charities and community projects in England and Wales applied to take part in CommunityForce and over 360,000 votes were cast.

DCCCA applied to CommunityForce because their plans to convert a disused social club building to a vibrant new community centre were in danger of coming to nothing following a devastating fire which destroyed a large part of the building.

CommunityForce, which forms part of the Bank’s Customer Charter, offers organisations more than just financial support. By applying for the awards, local charities and projects became part of a local online network giving them greater visibility and the opportunity to attract volunteers from the local area. NatWest staff are also getting involved by volunteering their time and expertise.

Priscilla Waugh, a project leader of the campaign, said “This award means so much to our community. It is a demonstration of faith in our project and means that the insurers of the building and the local council can see that our plans have captured the imagination of local people. It means that our new community centre need no longer be a simple reinstatement of a building that was no longer fit for purpose. It will now incorporate extra rooms and more up-to-date facilities, catering for Dean Court and the wider community, It will give us an opportunity to bring together disparate groups within the area and to identify new ways of working together for the common good ."