Young People March redecorate community centre after reusable paint donation

Cambridgeshire Community RePaint, which is run by the Cambridgeshire Community Reuse and Recycling Network (CCORRN), donated the paint which was collected from household recycling centres.

Creative volunteers at YPM helped decorate their community centre in City Road, which plays host to youngsters across Fenland for drop-in sessions which include sports, music, dance, computers, arts and crafts, beauty and cookery.

Jayne Manders, the centre manager, said: “A group of our youths aged between seven and 25 who use the centre volunteered to do most of the hard graft painting and they benefited greatly from the experience.

“The centre was in desperate need of redecoration and as a charity CCORRN’s offer to supply us with low cost paint was the spark to get this going.

“This type of work enhances our young people’s respect for their community by everyone being able to take part and create a better place in which we all live.

“It also develops social skills and maintenance skills. Companies and charities such as CCORRN donating materials for us to use helps us to achieve so much more.”

Since its launch in January, the Community RePaint project has already redistributed 1,000 litres of paint - which would otherwise have been dumped in landfill sites - to schools, charities and community groups.

Charlene Bundy, operations manager for CCORRN, said: “The response we have received from the public donating paint has been incredible.

“We are really looking forward to getting our RePaint project fully operational by now passing on the reusable paint to organisations that can use it and seeing how the project can have a positive impact on the community and environment in Cambridgeshire.”

The March-based RePaint scheme is now open by appointment. Paint can range from free to �1 a litre and the service is open to everyone in the county. To obtain paint contact CCORRN on 0845 602 7144 or e-mail repaint@ccorrn.org.uk