The Jago

The Local Community Centre

The Boston Local Community Centre is a great community hub which hosts a variety of groups including yoga, dance troupes, coffee mornings, health and hospice groups. We were funded through the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with Boston Borough Council.

The project:

As a longstanding venue with very little funds to maintain or improve the building, VIY, along with local young people and community volunteers, redecorated the main hall and entrance areas of the building, including constructing planters to create a fresh, bright and welcoming entrance.

The impact:

• 19 NEET/at risk young people took part on the project, referred from local youth organisations including Nacro, Thomas Middlecott Academy, Springwell Academy and Future For Me
• 17 Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations were achieved by the students in Carpentry and Painting & Decorating
• Usage of the venue increased by around 30% following the project to make the venue more attractive to current and new users
• One of the young learners enjoyed the carpentry so much he was inspired to investigate a career in construction
• Strong, positive feedback and demand for more from 3 students referred by Middlecott Academy:
• “Great fun, enjoyable and a really great experience. I enjoyed helping other people and being able to work with other people as part of a team. I made new friends. I would definitely like to work with Team VIY again if I had the opportunity to do so. It’s given me independence and confidence to try different things. I was always happy when I got home because I had had such a great time.”
• “I enjoyed the freedom from school and a change of scenery, I could try something different.  Great experience and would like to work with Team VIY again in the future. I really enjoyed painting and making a difference to the community.”
• “Great fun, enjoyed having the independence. I really enjoyed painting the Community Centre and making it look a better place for people to go to. I would really like the opportunity to work with Team VIY again.”
• Feedback from the Board of Trustees: “The centre looks lovely now it’s had a refresh. The planters outside are really well made by the group, I can’t wait to see the plants in the summer.”
• Richard Tory, Trustee at The Local Community Centre, Boston, also volunteered alongside the young people on the project: “I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of days that I worked alongside your team and the young people they were supervising and instructing. The team were knowledgeable, helpful and supportive, whilst the students were enthusiastic, motivated and willing to attempt their tasks. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with all involved.”

The Macbeth

The Old Farm Bus

The Pythian Club

The Rose School

The Sound Lounge Music Venue

The Sound Lounge is a grassroots music venue and community hub that offers live gigs and events as well as training and workshops for marginalised young people and local people in need. They have been a crucial community organisation across South London for many years.

VIY and The Sound Lounge were connected by the Music Venue Trust in 2019 as The Sound Lounge had been offered a new venue in a former bank on Sutton High Street by Sutton Council. One of 20 VIY projects funded at the time by Greater London Authority’s Good Growth fund.

The project:

Following Sutton Council’s regeneration team completing crucial enabling works including toilets and electrics, we continued the retrofitting of this high street unit into a thriving community space for The Sound Lounge – which would play a fundamental part of Sutton Council’s wider regeneration plans for the area.

We built a new stage, a new secure storage space for sound equipment, created a new bar area. new kitchen space and redecorated the entire venue, making it a fit-for-purpose home for The Sound Lounge to become a central community space; the UK’s first carbon neutral grassroots music venue and plant-based café.

The young people: 27 young people referred to the project by multiple local youth referral partners including Sutton NEET Forum, Sutton Youth Offending Team, Limes College Pupil Referral Unit, YMCA and three local schools/colleges

The impact:

• A former bank retrofitted and repurposed to become a thriving community space
• 8 volunteer expert tradespeople from the Federation of Master Builders took part in the project, contributing two weeks worth of skilled labour time
• More than £5,000 worth of tools and materials donated by Travis Perkins, Dulux and GAP Hire Solutions
• See how the venue is still thriving in 2025 thanks to local community engagement and crowdfunding

“The space has been completely transformed. The level of creative input and craftsmanship exceeded any other trade partner we have used in the past. The Lead Mentor Alan clearly developed an excellent relationship with the young people getting the best out of them and it was clear throughout that they all felt a huge sense of pride over the brilliant work they had done.” Hannah White, Co-founder and Manager, The Sound Lounge

Accreditations: 15 Entry Level 3 City & Guilds accreditations gaine, through a combined total of nearly 300 hours volunteering

The Tin Music & Arts Venue

The Space CIC

The Vaults

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