It has been some time since we circulated a general update on progress with the Meeting Centre, but rest assured we have been pressing ahead as quickly as is practical. Here’s a brief summary of the progress made.
Premises
We have been very busy improving the club rooms at Lochside Park to make them more suitable for use as a Meeting Centre. This has involved:
- Replacing all of the lighting, to create a brighter environment, whatever the weather or time of day
- Redecorating the main lounge
- Replacing the floor covering
We are in the process of ordering more suitable furniture and have still some minor adaptations planned to make the building a bit more accessible, but we’re confident that the building will be ready before long
Support for the building work has been tremendous, with local businesses contributing in various ways and a power of work done by volunteers.
Staff and Volunteer Recruitment
We are making progress with staff recruitment.
To operate successfully, the Meeting Centre will need a core staff team of three. These jobs have been advertised and we are now in the process of interviewing and selecting. Assuming that goes well, we will get staff in post as soon as is practical and then work with them to prepare for opening in the spring.
We’ve also had contact from a number of potential volunteers, who have heard about the Meeting Centre and offered to get involved. This is great news and we look forward to working with them.
A new Volunteer Development Worker will be starting work at the cricket club in the near future. Part of the role of this person will be to recruit volunteers to support the work of the Meeting Centre. There will be opportunities for people to get involved in committee work, working in the Meeting Centre, supporting an activity programme and fundraising..
We would be delighted to hear from potential volunteers at any time, but volunteer recruitment will be a priority in the near future
Organisational Development
Part of the funding awarded to the Meeting Centre was to enable us to engage an outside provider to do some work on business planning and exploring the best organisational structure for the club and Meeting Centre. That work is at a fairly advanced stage and we should receive the report and be in a position to take decisions in the next few weeks.
Whatever the outcome of that work, we know that we will be looking to establish a more formal management or advisory group for the Meeting Centre, building on the contributions that people are already making.
To move this discussion to the next stage, we intend to call another open meeting of interested parties in the near future.
Gearing Up
In addition to all of the above, we have been gearing up for opening, giving thought to how we promote the Meeting Centre, the ways in which people living with dementia might join and how we make sure that the activities at the Centre properly reflect their needs and interests.
That work will continue and pick up pace once staff have been appointed.
I hope this update gives a sense of continuing progress and momentum. Support for the project has been tremendous so far and we are determined to keep moving forward towards a spring opening.
Please do what you can to spread the word about the project; we are keen to hear from anyone with an interest – whether in supporting the work or making use of the Centre when it opens.
We have created a new email address to help with communication. It is meetingcentre@strathmorecc.co.uk.
Please feel free to share the address.
And please feel free to get in touch if there’s anything else you’d like to know or suggest re the development of the Meeting Centre.
Thanks for your continuing support.