Rotary DIY SOS!

A team of 13 took on a DIY SOS challenge on Sunday in support of The Britwell Youth Project. Donning protective eyewear, some wearing the ever fashionable boiler suit or lab coat, club members set off for Slough after their club meeting to pick up a paint brush and bring about change to this fantastic community project.
 
The Background:
The Britwell Youth Project is based at the heart of the Britwell Estate in Slough, an area of significant deprivation.  It is a youth project providing services for up to 400 young people per week.  The centre offers services and projects to young people and these have included in recent years (dependent on funding availability):

• Providing a safe non-threatening haven for young people to develop friendships, have fun and work and learn together – developing their own lifeskills and contributing to their local community.
• A gym which hosts regular sports sessions, engaging young people in healthy group activities, such as cricket, football and basketball. 
• Cycle clubs, helping young people to repair and maintain bikes, and use hand tools.
• Development opportunities – often in conjunction with Berkshire Youth, and dependent on funding, e.g. involvement in leadership and volunteering projects resulting in an OCN accreditation
• Sessions on tackling issues such as gun, knife and gang crime

The Challenge:
The centre gets little to no funding at all and are just about covering costs to deliver the above aims and objectives.  Our challenge was to make the building look nicer for all the users and to carry out some general maintenance tasks that sadly they can’t afford to do themselves.  This included:

• Filling holes in the ceiling of the games room and painting it
• Painting the walls in the general common room and main hallway
• Replacing broken coat hooks

 
The team had lots of fun, helped by the yummy homemade chocolate cake brought along by club member Sarah!  It was a big job to do, but in the 6 hours the team were there it was completed successfully and what a difference it made…instantly making the whole place seem brighter and much more welcoming.

But it doesn’t stop there, Rotarians are returning in two weeks to tackle the outside container, where the centre hosts cycle workshops, giving it a brand new coat of paint to protect if from the elements (very much needed given the wonderful British summer we’re experiencing of late!). 
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Club member and event organiser, Lisa Hunter, commented “We really enjoyed this DIY SOS challenge, it was so much fun and what’s great is we know it will be a massive help to the centre and is a practical way for us to contribute to the community an give up our time for good causes.”

Thank You:
Maidenhead Bridge Rotary would like to say a massive thank you to AkzoNobel Decorative Paints who very generously donated all the paint for the project, making it all possible!
 
Sound like fun?
If this project sounds like fun and you want to get involved in volunteering then get in touch with us today…

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