Supporting Voluntary and Community Action
In alphabetical order
Greenway Centre | Hamilton House | Roll for the Soul | St Werburghs City Farm | St Werburghs Community Centre | The Hub Lockleaze | The Park Community Centre | Windmill Hill City Farm
This award will be decided by public vote - to cast your vote click here
The Greenway Centre is always very accommodating of our needs, the meeting rooms are a very good size. The café is really pleasant to sit in and the food is good.
Most of the facilities staff are local people, they really care about the venue and how it is presented. The café is also run by local people who are really friendly and willing to accommodate our needs.
The venue has disabled access.
There is a community gym at the Greenway Centre, several fitness classes for all ages, a walking group, a gymnastic group and lots more.
http://thegreenwaycentre.co.uk/
Hamilton House has made a huge contribution to the regeneration of Stokes Croft, helping build a safer community and providing space for businesses, artists, educators, musicians and a wide diversity of people. Coexist run Hamilton House to best provide space for the community and have a strong ethical and ecological ethos, putting 'coexistence' at the heart of what they do. Over the last year they have redeveloped spaces, supported countless local individuals and groups put on talks, events, screenings, theatre, music, run community projects and keep a large building that was destined for development in community use.
Coexist support over 400 people from the local community by providing space for them and their businesses/projects and through this they have a voice in the building's development. This occurs through floor meetings, the AGM and planning for the annual Open Day. The local community essentially hire spaces and put on their own events, thus making Hamilton House representative of the community's needs and desires. In terms of the running of the venue, Coexist take on volunteers and provide training, and volunteers from the local community get to input at multiple levels of the business should they wish. Coexist also work with organisations such as CoResist to programme events with and on behalf of the community. Many events that would not be financially viable are made possible through this support. Coexist also have feedback systems through reception that facilitate the community to make suggestions and have their voices heard.
The accessibility of the venue has improved greatly over the last 12 months. A bar has been built in one of the spaces to be practical for wheelchair users to run and to be served from, and lift access has been restored to provide people with physical disabilities access to all levels. Guide dogs are welcomed, and there are several people who work in the building with disabilities that Coexist work with to improve their experience and the experience of people with other needs. The latest consultation has resulted in seeking the implementation of hearing loops. The community kitchen is a fully adjustable cookery school space which provides access to people with a range of disabilities.
The building offers room hire, hot-desking space for individuals and start-up companies, office space for charities, groups and community interest companies, artists studios catering for local artists and a shop and gallery space to sell and showcase their work, dance classes, choirs and singing classes, a wellbeing centre offering alternative and complimentary therapies, an events space for theatre, music and performance arts, a community kitchen which gives access to registered and accessible cooking space for the community, a bike repair project catering to disadvantaged and marginalised members of the community, social spaces, conference rooms and much, much more.
Roll for the soul is a great new (ish) addition to Bristol's community facilities. Central, welcoming and with great food it reflects much of what is distinctive about Bristol. In its own words it is for "people who get off their backsides and create their own culture rather than lapping up the nonsense that we’re encouraged to buy every day and pretty much everywhere."
Roll for the soul is Bristol's Community Bike Cafe and so much more, it serves Bristol's cycling community but also activists and music and arts.
Roll for the soul is just off Bristol's Centre, so easily accessible to people from all over the city and beyond. The cafe and services downstairs are fully wheelchair accessible. While the bike workshop is upstairs, the team are always happy to carry any bikes up there.
Cafe, cycle workshop, bike maintenance classes, talks, music, meeting space, meetings, wheel building courses (!), bike and bike trailer hire, cycle shop.
http://www.rollforthesoul.org/
St Werburghs City Farm is a green oasis in the heart of Bristol comprising a 2 acre small holding, 1 acre community garden, 2.5 acre wildlife woodland and 13 acres of allotments; connecting people to their food, environment and community. It is free to attend, open 7 days a week and attracts over 40,000 visitors annually. Since 1980, the Farm has delivered services not easily accessed elsewhere in the city, for some of Bristol’s most disadvantaged residents, from horticulture training for adults with learning disabilities, to green woodworking and livestock management for young people who are marginalised from mainstream education attended. It's also a wonderful community resource for all members of the community, of all ages and walks of life, bringing people together over the oink of a pig or the bleat of a lamb! The food in the award-winning Cafe is fantastic!The whole site promotes sustainable living, healthy, local, affordable food and healthy active lifestyles - in a fun and engaging way.
The Farm seeks to deliver meaningful and lasting change for the community. It puts energy into outreach to meet those who are less confident in coming to the Farm. The Farm empowers people to live their life in a positive way. The local community is involved in all levels of running the venue, including the Board of Trustees (all local residents). Volunteers. project participants and partners are all consulted and involved in project design and delivery. New farm buildings/ facilities are built with the help of local volunteers.
The Farm is in the heart of Bristol City Centre - the main site is wheelchair accessible. The Farm promotes travel on foot or by bike where possible but can also be reached by bus or by car. The Farm is committed to equality and diversity and encouraging and accommodating visitors from all walks of life. For example, they have undertake projects with Somali Families and young people who identify as Roma. Most of the Farm's projects are targeted at families and individuals that are either socially or economically disadvantaged and aims to support people to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
There are a wide range of activities on offer, including:
• Activities for local families
• Primary school classes and activities, including Forest Schools, with activities around food and farming, wildlife and sustainability
• Regular placements and one off activities for young people marginalised from mainstream education
• Accredited horticulture/ animal care training for adults with learning difficulties
• Venue hire
• Community events
• Fantastic Cafe
• Visitor attraction - the Farm itself
• Community garden for peaceful reflection
St Werburghs Community Centre continually goes above and beyond the call of duty...open at least 12 hours every day, extremely friendly staff, excellent facilities (that are continually refurbished and re-designed) and a true 'open door' attitude - exemplified by the open access computers in the lobby. Anybody can come in, regardless of their circumstances, and use them from open until close.
The Centre often seeks comprehensive feedback from the community on how they are doing and what they want - there are suggestion boards, consultation surveys, online surveys and feedback forums, wherein groups are listened to. Questions and comments are always taken seriously.
The building is fully accessible in every way.
Everything! From art classes for people with mental health problems, free computer lessons, yoga, Tai Chi, commercial training, weddings, gigs, children's play groups, and much more.
The Hub is a new community centre run by Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust who have been serving the community of Lockleaze for a number of years.
Under the guidance of fantastic new manager, the staff have worked hard to create a welcoming and open atmosphere to the diverse community in which the centre is situated.
Members of the local community are involved in volunteering at The Hub in a number of ways, including opening/closing for private bookings; running activities for a variety of ages such as drama clubs, art groups and exercise classes; supporting wider community events like the annual Love Lockleaze festival; plus coming on board as trustees for the Trust.
Particularly over the last year, staff have involved the community in putting forward their suggestions for new events and activities, and empowering them to make that happen.
The Hub is a fully accessible venue for those who are disabled, with power-assisted doors and disabled toilet facilities. There are a number of wheelchair users who attend activities and groups at The Hub.
Gentle exercise classes, Short Mat Bowls group, walking group, art classes and a craft group, ‘Monday Matinee’ film afternoons and Family Film Nights in partnership with the local school, various activities for parents and toddlers, Scouts, a variety of training courses, Kangoo exercise classes, Bingo, Karate, a weight Loss support group for mums and Slimming World plus a drama club for kids.
http://www.lockleazehub.org.uk/
An old secondary school located in a very, very deprived area has become a charity and taken over a 155 acre site to established a place, at the centre of the community, providing services and support for every age group and ability. It is a warm, caring environment in an area lacking support and nurturing. Run by heart-of-gold local people for local people. Activities include, cooking lessons, art, sport of every kind, care for the vulnerable - elderly and learning difficulties, post-16 education for those unable to learn in a conventional environment, a café with affordable food, rehabilitation for young offenders, elderly lunches, computers for job seekers, affordable meeting spaces, parkour and much more. The Park is also leading the way with other local organisations, establishing the first local community festival and a street art festival this year.
The Park is literally at the centre of the Knowle West community. Staff are local people in the majority and the charity has an ethos of consulting local people to improve and develop support and services.
Very accessible by car, bus and foot with a large carpark area for over two hundred cars.
Every age group, interest and ability is catered for. The range of activities is too long for 150 words. From crèche and a small animal farm to elderly parties and a history group. Other charities are provided with affordable space to run their own services from young people's provision, ex offenders and small social enterprises. Affordable and accessible sport and dance is high on the agenda. A café with healthy, low cost food and a kitchen providing courses in choosing, growing and cooking healthy food. More than anything, friendly welcome faces to raise the quality of the day for a community with high unemployment and poor health.
http://www.theparkknowle.org.uk/
Windmill Hill City Farm is simply the most valuable and important venue in Bristol! At Redcliffe Children's Centre we have been visiting the farm since the 1960s and they are crucial to the wellbeing and healthy start of our 120 children, most of whom live in the high rise flats in Redcliffe. I coordinate the food project and won this year's BBC Cook of the Year award which recognised the value of growing fresh vegetables and cooking them with children under 4. The farm have been a huge part of this, we have a community plot there which the children visit every week and this contact with growing and nature is what makes the farm so special.
Without Windmill Hill Farm many of the children in the area would have little or no access to outdoor growing space and farm animals. The farm runs community events all year round which attract hundreds of local families who would be able to afford a visit to another venue. The farm also works closely with local schools, such as ours at Redcliffe, giving local children valuable access to animals and agriculture.
The farm keeps getting better and in the last few years has made enormous changes to the accessibility and quality of visits, and they have big plans for the future! There is now an outdoor kitchen with a cob oven which I have used for demos during their community days. We brought the 120 children of Redcliffe Childrens Centre to the Big Picnic event which encouraged local families to spend a day at the farm in celebration of growing, cooking and eating. The farm is now accessible to disabled visitors and does important work with local people with mental health issues and social care needs.
Growing seasonal produce with local schools, courses in arts, horticulture and creative skills, open days and community events and celebrations. The farm also has a brilliant café which uses produce from the allotments. Visits and tours giving local people access to a real farm and allotments.
http://www.windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk/