A Celebration 10 Years in the Making!

A very important milestone has been commemorated for The Place as we celebrated our 10th anniversary!

On Thursday the 10th of December community members, tenants, hirers, board members, staff, volunteers local dignitaries and friends of The Place from the past 10 years came together over afternoon tea to celebrate this special milestone.

The celebration included speeches from local dignitaries; Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser and Member for Charlestown Jodie Harrison and people who have played a significant role in the Centre’s development, reflecting on achievements and highlights over the years.

The Place is proud to be a not-for-profitorganisation that has established itself as a central part of the Charlestown community. The past ten years have been amazing and impactful for the Centre, hosting 14,462 events and 360,802 participations, which equates to positively impacting the lives of 100 people every single day!

Over the years The Place has provided a range of programs and services for people of all ages and backgrounds including programs for health and wellbeing, improving digital skills, social groups and providing information and referral support for the community. We have also hired out our space to a range of groups to provide various activities and events and are proud to be a space for the whole community to meet, connect and belong.

During the celebration Centre Manager Cristelle Govender announced two wonderful new programs. The first, the Well I Am program made possible through a partnership with Laura Collison from Well Education, Charlestown Square and their wonderful staff, and The Place. This is an early intervention program that will focus on developing positive self-worth in young women aged 10 to 16 years.

The second program made possible through collaboration with Project Kindness is a Kindness Cupboard that is filled with non-perishable foods and hygiene items available for anyone in the community that finds themselves in need. This program will not only provide a helping hand to those who need it, but it will provide the opportunity for every member of our community to support their fellow community members on the premise of take what you need and leave what you can.

Looking to the future Centre Manager Cristelle Govender said “We’re excited as an organisation to be getting more involved in supporting our community to thrive through greater collaboration, leveraging our resources and networks and importantly through delivering proactive and responsive programs.”

Also acknowledged in particular were two people; Kathleen Pennington who runs Massage Space at The Place and is the our longest standing tenant (reaching 10 years in April next year) and Karden Salomons our Administration Coordinator who celebrated her 10-year work anniversary in November, having joined The Place team even before the official opening.

We want to thank everyone who celebrated with us anda HUGE thank you to our community, tenants, hirers, board members, staff, volunteers and everyone who has shaped The Place over the past ten years. We look forward to 2021 and future years to come!