- published: 02 Jul 2014
- views: 1098
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within the greater community. Examples of community centres for specific groups include: Christian community centres, Islamic community centres, Jewish community centres, youth clubs etc.
Early forms of community centres in the United States were based in schools providing facilities to inner city communities out of school hours. An early celebrated example of this is to be found in Rochester, New York from 1907. Edward J. Ward, a Presbyterian minister, joined the Extension Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, organizing the Wisconsin Bureau of Civic and Social Development. By 1911 they organized a country-wide conference on schools as social centres. Despite concerns expressed by politicians and public officials that they might provide a focus for alternative political and social activity, the idea was successful. In 1916, with the foundation of the National Community Center Association, the term Community Center was generally used in the US. By 1918 there were community centres in 107 US cities, and in 240 cities by 1924. By 1930 there were nearly 500 centres with more than four million people regularly attending. The first of these was Public School 63, located in the Lower East Side. Clinton Child's, one of the organizers, described it as
Well the sky's turning purple
Above the community centre
And I'm sitting in a circle,
Telling my secrets to strangers
And they say I've got a problem
But I don't know that I've got one
'Cause you never know that you've got one
'Til someone comes along and spots one
They say it's the hardest step
But it's the first one of many
And my feet are stuck to the ground
And I can't seem to take any
I could tell them I just came
For the free cup of tea and the biscut
And make my way towards the door
But I don't think I can risk it
'Cause I never wanted to stay,
But the morning came so soon
And we all know the words,
But we just sing them out of tune
'Cause I had my first drink when I was fourteen,
And I knew that I was in trouble
'Cause I woke up the next morning
With my face down in the rubble
And everyone was drinking singles
I pour myself a double,
I just needed a little bit more
And now I'm sitting here with my name badge
And I'm listening to the same sad stories
About their old dads,
Who're making all the same
Bad turning's at their crossroads
And drowning all their sorrows,
Without any lifeguard around
Oh no, I never wanted to stay
But the morning came so soon
And oh, we all know the words
But we just sing them out of tune
And oh, oh no
And the sky's turning dark
So we step out into the car-park
And I see you all same place, same time next week
But before we go our separate ways
Theres just one thing I'd like to say is,