I was recently asked to attend a meeting and speak about the Millennium Centre to a funder, one that supports many organisations here in Stranraer and further afield.
Something rather unusual happened when I stood up in front of the room. Looking around at the people there, some I knew, and some I’d had the pleasure of working with, I suddenly felt like a deer in the headlights.
That isn’t something that happens to me very often, especially when I’m talking about the Millennium Centre. Normally, I could talk for hours about the work we do and the difference it makes.
So, after thinking about it, I realised that perhaps the best way to explain it was to write it down.
Because sometimes, when you’re busy doing the work every day, it’s easy to forget just how much you actually do.
And I think it’s worth taking a moment to share exactly what the Millennium Centre does.
When you hear the words “community centre”, what do you picture?
Maybe you picture a building with some rooms that people can hire. And, of course, we are that.
But I think sometimes the words “community centre” actually, undersell what we do.
Because the Millennium Centre is not just one thing.
We are many things to many people.
And I wanted to take the opportunity today to talk about just how much happens here, because I think it is very easy to forget the scale and variety of what we do when all of it happens under the simple title of community centre.
The thing I am most proud of is that we don’t try to force our community into a particular model of what a community centre should be.
We listen to what our community asks for, and we adapt.
If the community wants somewhere to start a class, we provide affordable space.
If a strategic partner wants to reach people in our community and needs somewhere to do that, we provide a space, we don’t just provide a room and a key. We provide an affordable service that allows people and organisations to actually make things happen.
We also provide entertainment, culture and heritage.
We’ve had events ranging from the McDonald Brothers’ Music of Scotland show, through to stage productions and stand-up comedy, including Stuart Mitchell.
Those events give people an opportunity to experience music, theatre and comedy locally and affordably, they bring people into the building, they contribute to the cultural life of the town.
And importantly, they help generate income that allows us to continue doing the wider community work that we do.
Then there’s our producers’ market.
On the surface, it’s a monthly market, but actually, it’s much more than that.
It gives people an opportunity to take an idea, a product or a creative skill and put it in front of real customers. For some people, that might be their first experience of selling something they’ve made.
But the real opportunity is progression.
Someone can start by having a stall at the market and, over time, potentially progress towards running their own business and shop, we have seen this happen at our very own market.
Again, that’s the Centre responding to what people need and creating an opportunity where one didn’t previously exist.
And then, our youth work, where do I start?
We now engage over 180 unique young people, they’re involved in things like art, drama, science and sailing trips. Putting on stage shows that are written by the young people, including the prop design, lighting and sound. Sailing around the islands of Scotland, and this year even to, and from Stranraer, and unique art works that you can see in the centre, but also in places such as the unexpected garden.
The thing is, we’re not simply providing young people with something to do, they’re developing confidence, they’re building friendships, they’re gaining skills, they’re finding somewhere they belong. And they’re achieving things that they can take with them.
They can work towards awards and qualifications, including Youth Arts Awards, SQA qualifications and Dynamic Youth Awards.
And that recognition matters.
It’s about being able to say, “I did this. I achieved this. I’m capable of more than I thought I was.” For some young people, that can be incredibly important.
We also provide something as simple, but as important, as affordable opportunities for families.
We have space for parties and weddings, helping people celebrate important occasions without those occasions becoming unaffordable.
And recently we’ve introduced our two wet-weather activities, the free-roaming VR arena and the roller-skating rink, which have been recently tested by our youth group with great success.
Again, these didn’t come from us sitting in a room deciding what we thought people should have.
They came from recognising a problem. There wasn’t enough for children to do. It’s often raining, and families can’t always afford expensive activities.
So we did something about it.
In fact, we’re the first to achieve something that was mentioned in the Place Plan.
And I think that says something about the way we work, we see a need, we listen, and then we try to find a way to respond.
And that’s really what I think a community centre should be, not a building that tells the community what it is going to provide, but a building that has the flexibility to respond to what the community actually needs.
And that brings me to something else that I think is easy to overlook.
All of this doesn’t happen by itself.
Behind every event, every youth session, every market, every booking and every activity, there is work that people don’t necessarily see.
There is cleaning, setting up and taking down, administration, there are bookings, safeguarding, funding applications, maintenance, social media, planning, partnership work, and the day-to-day problem solving that comes with running a community facility.
And we do all of that with a team of nine people.
Nine people are delivering an enormous amount across a huge range of activities and responsibilities.
And I think that’s something we should be proud of.
Because when you stand back and look at the Centre as a whole, it is actually quite remarkable how much is happening under one roof.
We have young people gaining confidence, skills, awards and qualifications.
We have families finding affordable things to do.
We have people developing creative ideas and potentially progressing into businesses.
We have community organisations and strategic partners using the building to reach the people they need to reach.
We have arts, culture and heritage.
We have entertainment.
We have affordable celebrations.
We have opportunities for people to start something new.
And we have a building that is constantly adapting to what the community asks for.
So, when I say the Millennium Centre is a community centre, that’s true, but it doesn’t really tell the whole story, because a community centre doesn’t necessarily have one single core purpose.
Its purpose is to serve its community, and communities don’t have one single need.
They have hundreds of different needs, that’s why I don’t think we should try to fit ourselves into one box.
The strength of the Millennium Centre is actually our ability to be many things, to be a place for young people, families, businesses and entrepreneurs, community organisations, arts and culture, entertainment, learning, celebration. And sometimes, simply, a place where people can come together.
And the common thread running through all of those things is affordability.
So, I suppose if I wanted you to take one thing away from what I’ve said today, it would be this:
Please don’t underestimate us because we’re called a community centre.
There is an enormous amount happening here. We are doing far more than simply running a building. We are responding to our community. We are creating opportunities. We are supporting people. We are providing experiences. We are developing young people. We are supporting enterprise. We are bringing arts and culture into the town. We are giving families affordable things to do. And we are doing all of that with a team of nine.
I am genuinely proud of what the team achieves.
And I think the reason I am proud is not simply because of the number of activities we deliver.
It’s because of what sits behind all of it.
We listen.
We adapt.
And we deliver.
And ultimately, that’s what the Millennium Centre is.
We’re not just one thing.
We are many things to many people.
And I think that’s exactly what a community centre should be.