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Acommunity centre,community center, orcommunity hall is a public location where members of acommunity gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a specialized subgroup within the greater community. Community centres can be religious in nature, such asChristianchurches,Islamicmosques,Jewishsynagogues,Hindutemples, orBuddhisttemples; though they can also be secular and in some cases government-run, such asyouth clubs orLeisure centres.
The community centres are usually used for:
Around the world (and sometimes within single countries) there appear to be four common ways in which the operation of the kind of community centre are owned and organised. In the following description, "Government" may refer to the ordinary secular government or to a dominant religious organisation such as the Roman Catholic Church; and it may refer to the central, national, or international branch of a government/church or to the local subdivision of it.
In addition to these models, community centres are also run by humanitarian organizations and the national societies of theRed Cross and Red Crescent Movement. These centres serve as hubs for providing humanitarian aid, offering services such as psychosocial support (MHPSS), socio-economic development programs, social cohesion activities, and protection services for vulnerable populations, including refugees and migrants. These community centres are vital in crisis contexts, facilitating recovery and resilience by addressing the social and emotional needs of affected individuals.[1]
The community centres typically have their own origin and history. There are some examples:
Early forms of community centers in theUnited States were based inschools providing facilities toinner city communities out of school hours. An early celebrated example of this is to be found inRochester,New York from 1907.Edward J. Ward, aPresbyterian minister, joined the Extension Department at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, organizing theWisconsin Bureau of Civic and Social Development. By 1911 they organized a country-wide conference on schools as social centers. 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 termCommunity Center was generally used in the US. By 1918 there were community centers in 107 US cities, and in 240 cities by 1924. By 1930 there were nearly 500 centers with more than four million people regularly attending. The first of these was Public School 63, located on theLower East Side.Clinton Child's, one of the organizers, described it as:
In the UK many villages and towns have their own community centre, although nearby schools may offer their assembly or dining hall after school for Community Centre activities. For example, local schools nearOuston, County Durham may host dance or sporting activities provided by a local community centre.[3]
Parks are also considered community centers. Another pioneer of community centers wasMary Parker Follett, who saw community centers as playing a major part in her concept ofcommunity development anddemocracy seen through individuals organizing themselves into neighborhood groups, and attending to people's needs, desires and aspirations. This can also include parks.
In the United Kingdom, the oldest community centre is possibly that which was established in 1901 inThringstone,Leicestershire by the old age pensions pioneer, Charles Booth (1847-1916). Extended in 1911 and taken over by theLeicestershire County Council in 1950, this centre still thrives as an educational, social and recreational community resource and was the inspiration for numerous others of its kind.
There are also community centres for a specific purpose, but serving the whole community, such as anarts centre.
Online community centres are defined as a web-based interactive, user-submitted network for groups, organizations, or businesses. Users create their own personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, art, calendars, music, and videos to display on their own pages. Administrators provide oversight to the content and approve membership of users.
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InSingapore, community centres are distinct buildings that are officially designated by thegovernment of Singapore. They are meant to play anurban planning role especially as part ofHousing Development Board projects. Enrichment and grassroots organization are their functions like most other community centres, but relievingtraffic congestion concerns by placing community centres nearby is also another reason.
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