Get Involved

There are myriad ways to be part of Dean Court Community Association: volunteering your time, donating your money, sharing your company… This organisation is all about the people who make it up. Come and be part of our community too!

Volunteer

Although we have an amazing team behind the scenes in the office, we still rely on volunteer power to keep the Centre running. From meeting and greeting hirers, to steering the direction of DCCA as a Trustee, we couldn’t do it without our wonderful helpers. If you’ve a hankering to get more involved in your community, then why not join our merry (and friendly) band of volunteers?

If you’ve got a skill or knowledge that you feel could benefit the Community Centre on a practical level please let us know.

From social media know-how to being a dab hand with a paint brush, if you’ve got the skills, we can put them to use!

Or if you want a more structured volunteering opportunity, we have the following roles to fill:

  • Key-holding: opening and closing the Centre for our hirers at a frequency that suits you
  • Trustee: help shape the future of Dean Court Community Centre. Meetings are held once per month. 
  • Community Coffee assistant: serving up tea, coffee and cakes on Wednesday mornings. Or could you bake for us?
  • Event organising: join the team who put on our Christmas carols and other community celebrations.
  • Ad-hoc event assistant: just lend a hand as and when you can at our events

 

For more information on any of our volunteering opportunities, email us on deancourtcc@gmail.com or contact us

 

Community Cohesion

We’re not just getting people to volunteer at the Centre, we want to bring people together, full stop.

We all have passions and skills; would you be interested in sharing yours with other like-minded residents? Possible groups we envisage being run in our community include: 

  • Gardening/produce sharing
  • Photography
  • Book club
  • Community Choir
  • Skill-swap/community loan scheme
  • Film club
  • Anything else!

Would you help us get them off the ground? If you think you could help or would be interested in joining such a group, tell us more on deancourtcc@gmail.com or contact us

 

Donate

People-powered

Don’t just take our word for it; have a read of what our volunteers have to say about working with Dean Court Community Association! Click on a name to find out more.

Antje Frotscher: Warm-hearted welcomer and Coffee expert

Name: Antje Frotscher

What I do at DCCA:  together with Morwenna I volunteer most weeks for a couple of hours at the Community Coffee Morning at Dean Court Community Centre. I’m also a key-holder, opening and closing for bookings at the centre a few times per month.

I’ve been living in Oxford for over 18 years, but only recently bought a flat just across the road from the Community Centre – I first became aware of it as a convenient and pleasant venue when I attended some of their weekly pilates classes, so when I saw their call for volunteers on the local freecycling website, it seemed natural to get in touch and offer to help out. When I’m not volunteering at the Centre, I teach archery….

The Coffee Morning is open to everybody and there are usually around 15 or so ladies and gents who stop by after the preceding exercise class for half an hour to enjoy a chat, a cup of tea or coffee, and of course a slice of Morwenna’s or Rachael’s homemade cake! They are a lovely bunch, always cheerful and friendly and very appreciative of the time and work put in by the volunteers who make these Coffee Mornings possible. It’s great to feel like you’re making a difference and I really feel like I’ve got to know those who regularly attend.

Neil Clark: Eco-hero and Community chef

Name: Neil Clark

What I do at DCCA: My main involvement at the centre is to support its work managing its environmental impact. As part of that, energy and water readings are taken regularly, and these help us to identify problems that we can then address. The centre also seeks to help users recycle as much waste as possible.

I also don my apron at help at Community Breakfast a few times per year.

The work I do is the best way that I can help the centre, my community and the wider environment. It’s also a great team and a great way to get to know people.

Anna Pearson: Self-proclaimed Bossy boots and Community enthusiast

Name: Anna Pearson

What I do at DCCA: I’m generally bossy and quite opinionated on anything to do with the centre (is that a role?!) I also serve as one of the Trustees, a Keyholder and anything else as required… Can we say I put the tears in volunteers? No?!

I am a primary school teacher by trade, so the volunteering I do has to fit around my day job. This week, for instance, sees me unlocking and locking the centre for an evening booking, fixing the toilet lights, meeting with the Trustees to review DCCA’s current progress, meeting with staff for support and guidance (theirs and mine!), emailing with the bookings team to make decisions on activities, making payments from the bank account and reporting on our spending through the medium of Excel… who doesn’t love a good spreadsheet?! In short, there is practically nothing that isn’t needed somewhere in the running of the centre; any skills or attributes can be utilised!

Why I do it: I’m one of the little band of merry volunteers who helped to begin the project in the first place, with little clue as to what we were taking on! Nearly 10 years and about £100k later, we have ourselves a fully functioning, financially independent, fantastic community centre in the heart of Dean Court. I am overwhelmed by what we are building, not just the bricks and mortar, but the friendly community of people who look out for each other and help each other out on good days and bad. I am proud to be one of the volunteers that helps to keep our Community Centre going, alongside the incredible staff who sweat out the nitty gritty of the day-to-day business of the centre. This community includes some of my favourite people in the world and I count myself incredibly lucky to share a neighbourhood with them.