There are many different ways that you can now get involved at the Mede Centre to help support your local community.

Volunteering

Charity Shop – Bargains Galore:

Flexible Monday to Friday 9 – 4pm. Sorting clothes, steaming, pricing garments, serving customers. Opportunity to gain an NVQ in customer service depending on time volunteered.

Bus:

Volunteer mini-bus drivers wanted with opportunity to have midas training.

Toddler Group Assistant:

To assist the Parent and Toddler Group Leader run a 2hr session for under 5yrs. The group allows for both free play and a structured fun and learning session involving arts and crafts, sing-along, and messy play. Parents are in attendance at all times to meet the care needs of the child. The group runs every Thursday 10 – 12 pm, the volunteer session begins at 9.30am to help with the set up for the session.

Setting up a local project:

If you or a group of friends wish to set up your own project that supports people who live in our area, we may be able to support you in many ways. For example, we could help you with space to run your idea in our community centre, offer affordable office space, or give advice and support in setting up a new project and help you to fundraise.

Whatever your idea, let us know and we can try to help you get it off the ground.

Management Committee:
The Mede`s Management Committee is made up of a body of Local residents who volunteer their time to oversee the day-to-day running of the Mede. They work as a team to ensure that the organisation runs legally and is provided with firm strategic direction. The MC members consult with staff and users of the centre on any major decisions.

The MC members meet monthly and oversee the challenges of running the Mede Centre. They ensure that decisions taken at the meetings meet the aims and objectives of The Mede.

Each year The Mede has an Annual General Meeting (AGM) where all members are entitled to vote for those standing for the places on the Board of Trustees and who are responsible for running The Mede, agreeing policy and ensuring that the organisation abides by the legal requirements.

The Mede has a `Memorandum and Articles of Association` (Constitution), which is a set of rules that was agreed by the members when The Mede Centre was established in 1990. The Constitution does come under review and amendments can be made if agreed by a majority of members at the annual Mede AGM.

Committee Members:
Chair: Alister Palmer
Vice Chair: John Blake
Treasurer: Bernard Morris
Secretary: Lesley Belgium

Ted Bowden
Jean Saunders
Roy Bath
Shirley Andrews
Annette Tyler
Maureen Cole

If you are interested in becoming a committee member, contact Sue Jones on 01179 041 220.

Fundraising Committee:
Have you got experience of raising funds for charity? Whether it be shaking a bucket, doing a sponsored walk, putting together funding bids, or have creative ideas on how to raise funds? If you do, we need you and would love to hear from you! We are currently recruiting for people to join the fundraising committee to help The Mede raise much needed funds to support existing projects and to develop new projects and groups.

The Fundraising Committee will be responsible for:

• Developing the Mede fundraising strategy with staff.
• Researching and identify potential new sources of funds for The Mede.
• Ensuring planning for regular income.

Events Committee:
We are now recruiting for volunteers to join our new events committee. The purpose of such a group is to allow local people to come together to suggest ideas for social and celebratory events to be organised at the Centre.

Inn the Know:
“Inn the Know” is our local community`s newsletter that is sent to all residents four times a year in the spring, summer, autumn and winter.

An Editorial Team of local residents and staff is responsible for the content of “Inn the Know”. They work hard to find articles that are relevant and interesting to all residents. They also aim for a mix of Residents’ own stories and articles that provide helpful information.

If you would like to join this group call Liz on 01179 041 220 or pop in and see us.

Inns Court Residents’ Association (ICRA):
The Mede Community and learning centre hosts I.C.R.A`S meetings, which are held every six weeks to discuss local issues and find solutions to local problems. Other partner agencies, such as Police, Community Support Officers and the Citizens` Advice Bureau, as well as Council members are also invited.

I.C.R.A. aim to:

• Voice residents` views.
• Discuss solutions to management issues affecting local neighborhoods.
• Organise local Neighbourhood Inspections, to raise issues and highlight areas for improvement.
• Apply for funding and work with local agencies to develop community projects that will benefit the area.

If you are interested in joining or assisting I.C.R.A. please don’t hesitate to contact The Mede who will pass on your details to the appropriate member.

A note from the Secretary:

Ann Briatore:
“We would like to take this opportunity to tell you about I.C.R.A. and what it means in the Inns Court Estate. Firstly we have been going for nearly seven years and hope that we have made a difference to our community. The aim of I.C.R.A is to help make the whole estate a better place to live and help to create a safe environment for the youngsters.”

Some of the big things we have achieved in the past are:

• Clearing some of the Black Path (a place well known for drug dens) and sowing grass seed to make a safe open space, this is coming on well.
• Also we have been busy getting to grips with the fly-tipping and the dumping of household waste around the area.
• We also do walkabouts around the estate every six weeks.
• When available, members from the various service providers that we work in partnership with will also attend. This is beneficial as they can see what needs to be done and what needs to be repaired and an efficient and effective approach can be taken in solving the problem.

If you are interested in coming to one of the meetings you will be made very welcome. The dates of the meetings can be found below. They are also on the I.C.R.A. notice board at the Mede Centre, just inside the main door. You will also be able to find the times and dates of all the walkabouts.