Help from Parish & District Council for Oasis Centre Gunnislake

Both the Calstock Parish Council and Caradon District Council are assisting the Calstock Development Trust with grants towards the running costs of the Oasis Centre , following failure to gain three year lottery funding for its core services.

This funding will allow the organisation time, while a number of grant giving organisations are approached.
The Oasis Centre tackles problems of rural disadvantage by providing support, advice and training to people of all ages. It acts as a base for external organisations to bring their services to the community, such as the youth advisory service “Connexions”. It has an excellent track record for helping people back into work by upgrading their skills and supporting the formation of new businesses. Work in helping the unemployed won it the Cornwall Community Foundation ‘Community Project of the Year’ award last year. For households without a computer it gives access to the internet for job searching and support for compiling and printing CVs. Children and young people use the facilities for doing their homework and the Centre provides a safe and educational environment for them.

The centre is awaiting the result of an application to the “NEIGHBOURHOOD LEARNING IN DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES” which would allow over twenty short courses to be run in Gunnislake. Watch out for information at these will run between April and July.

The Centre has a relatively small running cost of twenty thousand pounds per year As a small voluntary sector organisation, the long term cost benefit from CDT’s work of helping people back into work and in supporting a rural community is substantial. After three and a half years the Centre is well established with broad community support and many satisfied and grateful clients.

The Calstock Development Trust, which is responsible for the Centre has initiated its own fundraising activities and welcomes any support from readers in their efforts. For further details, please contact Jane Uglow, Project Co-ordinator, on 01822 834 303 or by email at calstocktrust@btconnect.com