Come&Create - Summer 2007

Project Background
One of the projects of our Co-operative Youth (the network of 16-25 year-olds in Southwark Woodcraft) has been Come&Create. It was started by Jessie (aged 19 at the time) when she launched a highly successful free arts club for children and families in West Norwood.
http://co-opyouth.blogspot.com/2007/05/come-and-creates-norwood-art-club.html
Come&Create is now a independent youth-run organisation that operates in the school holidays. Find out more at http://www.comeandcreate.com/.

Project Aims

1. To provide local children from low-income families with fun, exciting and creative activities in the holidays.
2. To develop links with and open up new young and local artists and workshop leaders from community, charity and refugee groups.
3. To work with the Woodcraft Folk outreach projects in the area, such as Playout and the Woodcraft Park Farm summer camps.

Come and Create!!!

Workshops

Jessie created a magnificent 3-week programme with a great range of creative workshop leaders who were either young, local and/or first-time workshop leaders.

These included young artists and african drummers from RefugeeYouth http://www.refugeeyouth.org/, local young street dancers and Circus skills experts from www.whippersnappers.org/, Rachel Rosen - an artist who specialises in metal and wire work, Knutsford's very own arts&crafts legend - Mr. Jolly Ben Jones, local Woodcraft Leader and Reggae star Hayeeryah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa9OcB-6HrQ) and young up-and-coming soul singer Nicola Sipprell www.myspace.com/nicolasipprell.

Day Trips

Each week we ran a day trip for the children and volunteer parents, where did themed arts and crafts. At Whitstable we did a seaside theme and at Woodcraft Park Farm, Southwark Woodcraft leaders Linda Osborn, Isabella Reyes and myself ran a Woodcraft/Native American day. In the morning the themed arts and crafts went down very well but in the afternoon we were hit by terrible weather. Nevertheless, we overcame the strong winds and pouring rain and were able to put up the Wigwam, make a fire inside and toast many a marshmellow. These day trips were very important. The majority of the group had never been to countryside.

Summer Camp

Southwark and Wimbledon's Woodcraft Districts ran an outreach project at their District Summer Camp'07. A group of children from Come&Create were able to attend this camp at the beautiful Woodcraft Park Farm in Sussex. None of the group had ever camped or been away from their parents/carers before, so it was a big challenge for both us and them.

The programme featured all sorts of co-operative, creative, fun and exciting activities and everyone had a great time.

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Project Info

Why West Norwood?

1. West Norwood is one of Lambeth's forgotten areas (south of Brixton) and has very few holiday and half-term opportunites for children, especially those from low-income families.



2. A number of us live in or have family in West Norwood, with close contacts on local council estates. Check out our video (up soon) to hear more about youth provision (or lackof) in West Norwood.

Funding
We were able to secure some a late funding agreement from Lambeth Council, just before the holidays. However, they took more than 6 months to pay us the money they had promised which meant that without the significant lending from Woodcraft and Co-operative YouthBank and Jessie going 2grand in debt for that period, the project would have clapsed. This is just one example of the problems voluntary and community groups face in Lambeth and Southwark.

Staff and Volunteers

We ran the project in an equal and co-operative way with all staff and workshops leaders being paid the same hourly rate. Jessie's role as Co-ordinator was to plan and organising the workshops, promote, outreach and take bookings. I ran the project with Sally, another PlayLeader. We had a number of volunteers from around London as well as 5 young volunteers from Wandworth and Dulwich & Peckham Venturers (see other posts on this blog).