Chats Palace, Homerton
21 September, 2011
7 volunteers gave up their time to help their community for the day.
42 hours served in revitalising Chats Palace.
6 projects volunteered in throughout the building and garden of Chats Palace.
Chats Palace is important to the community of Homerton. As well as being a heritage site, for the last thirty years it has been used as a local arts centre and music venue. Today, it hosts an array of arts, dance and performance classes for all the community to enjoy. From visiting the building, we quickly realised that a lot of work was required. Paint was peeling on the walls and the skirting boards. The bar was stained from years of spilt drinks. In the garden, the fences and tiles were infested with ivy and weeds. Our day began as usual with a team of bleary eyed volunteers who had made the effort to get up early and do something positive. We quickly got them fired up and ready for the day ahead. Our aims for the day were to fill any holes in the walls and to splash on some fresh paint, sand off and apply some new varnish to the bar and to repaint the skirting boards. With the speakers blaring out music and with spirits high we set everyone to work. By lunch time we were way ahead of schedule and we were already putting our finishing touches onto the main hallway. Consequently we decided to open a new project in one of the rooms upstairs. By the end of the afternoon, the work had all been completed and it looked great!
By Rowan Campus
What was the best part of your Community Action Day?
“To be able to make a difference, together with new people.”
“Meeting other volunteers (and project managers). Everyone was friendly”
