Welcome to Caxton House Community Centre

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A message from Paul Furze, Centre Manager (from our 2011 Annual Report)

I am pleased to report, that despite the many difficulties currently being faced by the Voluntary Sector, the past twelve months, whilst presenting us with many challenges, has also been a period of significant progress for Caxton House.

During the year we have further developed our role as a multi-purpose Community Centre and Hub within the local community, thereby maximizing opportunities for communities and binding us with other complimentary services and organisations in the area. We have succeeded in building upon and developing a portfolio of innovative and highly responsive community led projects. We have also worked hard to develop a leadership role for Caxton House within the local area, whereby we play an active part in improving community cohesion and well-being and contribute toward a cohesive approach to local service provision.

Among the many positive developments of the past year has been our continuing partnership work with other voluntary organisations and Islington Council. Elsewhere in this report you will find details of the Octopus Community Network’s Wild Places project. This is a wonderful example of the way that organisations can work together in collaboration on developing an innovative project and the positive benefits that this can bring to local communities through the promotion of intergenerational activities and the creation of new learning and job opportunities.  Through our partnership work we have been able to maximise opportunities for service delivery and to share and develop innovative ideas for community development.

With the recent cuts to local authority spending and the consequent reduction in voluntary sector budgets it has become more important that we look to make scarce resources stretch further and to use these more effectively. Through the development of a joint purchasing initiative, we have been looking at ways of working in partnership with other organisations in order to share resources, reduce costs and exchange information and ideas. We are also working with Voluntary Action Islington on the Big Lottery funded Community Buildings Project which looks to provide support to voluntary and community organisations through the improved use of their buildings, supporting collaborative work between centres and developing a bank of shared information, Through this initiative we have been supported in our aim to encourage increased usage and involvement in our services and activities by a greater diversity of people, whether through more effective ways of marketing or maximising building space.

During the past year we have worked collaboratively with our local councillors, community groups and Islington Council on the development of the Hillrise Ward Partnership. We are extremely proud of the key role that Caxton House is playing in hosting, developing and supporting these meetings as well as the important function we fulfill in identifying issues of concern and addressing priorities for the local area. We also place great value on the close relationship we have with our local councillors, not least in the way we have worked in partnership to identify potential local projects, thereby resulting in the development of new activities such as Short-Mat Bowls and Chair-Based Exercise sessions that now run on a weekly basis from the Centre.

We have continued with our commitment towards providing work-place opportunities in Caxton House, both through volunteering and providing work placements for students from Islington, Haringey and Camden schools. We now have volunteers engaged in a number of key functions within the centre including admin, project development, marketing, caretaking and Under 5’s.Our Time Bank project has continued to promote and support volunteering opportunities both locally and across the borough thereby building confidence in individuals and communities and fostering the ability of people to work together to play an active role in their local community.

Another aspect that we attach great importance to is our commitment towards management and governance of Caxton House. As part of this commitment we are continuing to work with Voluntary Action Islington towards obtaining VISIBLE accreditation for Caxton House which will lead to us achieving a recognised organisational quality mark, This has been complemented by the work we have undertaken with Voluntary Action Camden on the TARGET HR project whereby we are carrying out a comprehensive review of and updating our human resources policies and procedures. These initiatives will strengthen our capacity to promote quality and best practice, improve the way we manage and deliver our services and activities and provide a structure for continuous improvement.

Throughout the year we have continued to actively promote Caxton House as a vibrant and multi-purpose community centre with an ever-increasing range of services and activities that are available to local communities throughout the week, including evenings and weekends. Whilst acknowledging that there is still more work to be done with regard to engaging with local communities, I am nevertheless greatly encouraged by the tremendous progress that we have made and the benefits that this has brought to the many people who use our facilities and services.

Finally, I would like to thank staff, Management Committee members and volunteers for their dedication, hard work and support over the past year. I would also like to pay tribute to our many partners and users of the centre who have in no small way contributed to what has been an extremely positive year for Caxton House.