By Kirsty Ross
ONE of Wyndham’s nine community centres has admitted it is running at only half capacity.
Iramoo Community Centre in Wyndham Vale, which held an open day on Saturday, is calling for the community to take up some valuable opportunities.
“It’s running at about 50 per cent but there’s so much potential,” centre coordinator Penny Barrett-Young said.
Ms Barrett-Young said the new hub struggles to make ends meet and wants people to recognise its two-year-old Honour Ave location.
The news comes just as Wyndham City Council promised improvements and completed upgrades to its two most popular childcare centres to meet increased demand.
Council has also proposed to spend $4.6 million over the next two years to construct a new community centre in Tarneit to service the growth areas in Wyndham North.
Occasional childcare and computer classes are the most under utilised services at Iramoo, according to Ms Barrett-Young.
She said that not enough mums were dropping their kids off at Iramoo for its two-day a week, $6 an hour occasional childcare, despite the centre receiving a $3000 council grant in May to purchase new play equipment.
Last Friday under half of the possible 24 childcare places were filled for the three-hour care with children aged between nine months and three.
Computer classes have not started as there are not attracting volunteers, who don’t need any qualifications to teach beginner classes.
Ms Barrett-Young said retired people, parents with spare time, or students could chose the level they feel comfortable to teach and could benefit by gaining confidence and valuable experience to put on a resume.
“We can even set the program and type out beginner word sheets.”
The centre also offers self defence and dance classes, patchworking, yoga, sewing, over 50s talking sessions and a new craft group among others activities.
It also offers rooms for hire, including one that can hold up to 150 people, and a community room for 20 people.
Iramoo Community Centre opened in June 2004 but was previously known as the Wyndham Vale Community Centre in Ridge Drive where it ran for several decades.
On the other hand, Central Park Community Centre in Hoppers Crossing has been upgraded after 14-weeks in construction.
The $375,000 works include a new training room, extension of the delivered meals area and additional office space for council’s resident support staff.
Wyndham’s most popular hub, Quantin Binnah Community Centre, which opened in October 1992, will benefit from $1 million upgrade.
It currently houses two community rooms, three childcare rooms, two kindergartens, a maternal and child health service, staff offices and meeting rooms.
Upgrades, which started on 5 June will see improvements to the kindergarten and child care areas, a new meeting room and additional offices added, the kitchen extended and new storage space provided.
It is expected the works will be completed in February next year.
If you would like to get involved at Iramoo Community Centre call Penny or Pam on 8742 3688.
