Red Community Project celebrates 20th anniversary

The Red Community Project is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

The project was set up in 2001 as the Red Café, originally, to meet the needs of young people in the area.

Among the founders of the project were Helen Hunter and Chris Matthews, leader of Linden Church, both of whom are still involved today.

"About 22 years ago, we did a survey asking people in the area what they thought the needs were, and some activities and places for young people came up as one of the top priorities," said Mr Matthews, who taught at Bishopston Comprehensive at the time the project was set up.

They began to run one-off events for youth in the area like drop-in cafes and 'Battle of the Bands,' eventually purchasing a more permanent premises in the old Osprey Guest House from money raised by Linden Church.

"It was quite a journey at the time because we didn't have vast resources, so there was an element of risk and faith involved," Mr Matthews continued.

"In many ways, it grew out of a whole community of people and the wider community being supportive of it.

"Sometimes you just take the step in front of you because that's all you can see, and you look back and think 'Wow, what a long way we've come.'"

Due to the pandemic, the Red Community Project has had to think creatively about how to mark its 20th year.

"We would love to have been having a huge party. When we were 15 years old, we had a big event in the Marriott Hotel and invited all the different groups in the community," Ms Hunter said.

"That's not possible this year, so we've decided to spend the whole year trying to tell the story of some of the inspirational people who have been part of us."

Instead, the project is celebrating by saying 20 'thank yous' via social media to those who have been part of their story so far.

They also hope to hold 20 events, depending on the status of the pandemic later in the year, and to raise £20,000 through these events.

Since launching, they have expanded their projects to include a parent-toddler café, a food bank, and Musical Memories, a choir for those living with dementia and carers. The choir now has around 150 people involved, with more having joined virtually during lockdown.

The project also partnered with another local social enterprise, The Shared Plate, during lockdown to provide food to those in need.

"We learned to grow things slowly and that it was better to do that with people, even if it took more time and was a bit messier," said Ms Hunter.

"The journey is as important as the destination. That's our attitude to everything we do.

"It's been a real privilege to have seen the strength of the community and to have worked with such fantastic people over the years.

"I think our greatest achievement is to still be here through some very challenging times with voluntary sector funding and so on, and to still have so much hope for the future that we'll continue to evolve and create new projects within the city."

Although many people involved in the project are linked to Linden Church, they emphasise that they're not simply interested in people coming to church.

"We want to be here for the good of the community, so we have lots of people involved who share our faith and many who don't," Mr Matthews said.

"It's been wonderful to see the diversity of people who have come and worked hard – seeing some of the asylum seekers and the refugee community who have come and run food banks and been a part of giving back to a community.

"In the giving back, people have received. That's what happens when you help others and you live not with yourself at the centre all the time, you develop a generous heart and life feels very different. It feels a privilege to have been a part of that."

Ms Hunter said that the project has a bottom-up approach and aims to support the ideas of their volunteers to bring them to life as projects within the community.

"It's about bringing people together, that idea that life is better when you're connected to others and all those difficult transitions and challenges in life are made much more copeable with when you're connected to other people who understand what you're going through."