ALL ABOUT C.A.N.E.

Community Association of New Eltham

      The Community Association of New Eltham began in 1996 as a result of the library here in New Eltham being refurbished. The new library facilities did not require all the rooms in the building in Southwood Road and so Greenwich Council approached the residents of New Eltham and asked if we would like to manage two rooms as a local community centre. A steering committee took a year to get the views of local residents, get their commitment, build a constitution and agree a lettings policy. So, on October 8th 1996 at the inaugural meeting, a committee was voted in place and the Association was born.

      Now, fourteen years later and after building a kitchen,(which has been extensively refurbished in December 08), storage cupboards, two additional toilets, improving the storage capacity, adding vertical blinds and redecorating the rooms annually - this is your community centre.

      The Association was until recently, run completely by volunteers, as we do not receive any grants from the council, but do get rate relief. We pay rent to the council from the money we generate letting the rooms each quarter. At the 2001 AGM a decision was made to take on a part time Community Centre Co-ordinator to manage the day to day running of the centre and improve the type and number of activities we can offer.

      We raise our income by hiring out the rooms to event organisers, so that you can come along and enjoy what's on offer, see the regular events page for details. The committee also arrange events which are aimed at all age groups. A list of these activities are on our special events page.

      We operate a Coffee Shop, which is run by a small army of volunteers who are organised by Mrs Anne Read. It offers a warm place to meet up with friends and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee for as little as 30p/40p respectively. For opening times see the the regular activities page.

       C.A.N.E became a UKonLINE centre with four computers installed, all to Windows Vista standard, plus we have a small team of volunteers to help you access the equipment. If you want to learn how to use a computer or brush up on your existing knowledge come along and enrol. The tuition is free and you don't have to live in New Eltham to use this centre. 

    C.A.N.E. has been successful with three grant applications. Firstly, As a result of the IT equipment we ran a "Gain Confidence to Approach the Job Market" course with a grant from Fastforward and Greenwich Neighbourhood Renewal. This helped twelve local people who were unemployed brush up on their I.T. and interview skills, to approach the job market.

As a result 2 of those people gained employment using their new skills.

     The second grant was from Awards For All, the lottery to whom we applied and received money to purchase two short mat bowls mats and equipment.

We now have 2 sessions each week with people using this equipment.

    The third grant came from "Partners in Time" aimed at improving the facilities for both the elderley and young families.

All three grants were gratefully received by the local people who benefited from them and C.A.N.E. will look out for further opportunities to help local people get the most out of their community centre

For more information about C.A.N.E. please don't hesitate to contact Sue Killick on 020 8850 7122.

You can get involved in this successful Community Centre. Volunteers are always required especially for the Coffee Shop. If you would like to become involved with our coffee shop please call Sue on 020 8850 7122 between 9.30am and 2.00pm any weekday except Wednesday. We will support you through a council run hygeine course. 

We hope you enjoy you visit to this web site. You can leave comments on our guest page.

If you would like more information about hiring the rooms for a family event we can also give details or show you around our facilities.

This is your community - Take part in it!

You can contact us by email: cane.sue@hotmail.co.uk

Telephone: 020 8850 7122

between 9:30 to 2:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Or pop in and see us at:

New Eltham Library Community Rooms
Southwood Road
New Eltham
London
SE9 3QT

We are 50 metres from New Eltham railway station

Buses that pass close by are B13, 160, 233, 321, 314

Click here for an 'interactive' map