The Village Square Trust is a community based not-for-profit organisation. Our purpose is to build strong, connected local communities by giving people places to meet, learn, create and grow.
We manage both the Parnell and Epsom Community Centres on behalf of Auckland Council and provide a range of services to people of all ages.
Although now operating under a new name the basic premise of the Trust has not changed in the last 40 years.
It started life in 1982 as the Knox Trust, established after much work in the community by Bruce Patterson the minister of the Presbyterian Knox Church in Parnell. Bruce’s vision was for a centre of community, not just church based and something more encompassing than just the provision of classes. He wanted it to be accessible to all planes of society particularly those who are not as fortunate as others.
Knox Trust operated out of the church premises in Birdwood Crescent. One of the first programmes was the After School Programme run out of the Knox Hall. Over the last 40 years this programme has progressively expanded to include school holiday programmes and early childcare centres, including the Auckland Council purpose built facility at Gladstone Park, as well as other community activities. The childcare services now comprise a major part of the Trust’s activity.
In 1995 a new Trust Deed was established removing the connection with the Knox Church and focussing on the community activity. The move to the Jubilee Building in 1996 was a huge and necessary step for the Trust. The Church facilities were no longer suitable for the Trust activities, and new premises were required but the move also provided the opportunity to generate income from venue hire and to establish the now well known Parnell Farmers’ Market.
The Jubilee Building is now synonymous with the Parnell Community Centre and provides a central focus for community activities. The Trust has always looked for ways to expand its activities and it now also runs the Epsom Community Centre. This expansion prompted the name change to The Village Square Trust as we are no longer just based in Parnell.
In fact the Trust community has for many years ranged well beyond Parnell. Many of the Gladstone Park Childcare Centre users work in the city but do not live in Parnell. Our Before and After School programmes are based at Epsom Normal and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart schools. People come from all over Auckland to attend our community classes and social activities. As do the organisations that use our venue for their meetings and social functions.
We would like to expand our programmes to incorporate more social and community based opportunities for people and to take our skills to other areas beyond our Parnell base. Around the world there is a realisation that loneliness is a huge issue across all age groups and we are looking to see what we can do to create activities to alleviate this.
Funding has always been an issue for the Trust. There is no Trust fund to generate income so we have to cover costs. Although we are strongly associated with the Jubilee Building and the Gladstone Park Childcare centre, we do not own these buildings so we are vulnerable to changes in the lease arrangements for these venues. The bulk of our income comes from our contract with Auckland City to provide the community programmes; the fee paying childcare programmes; the Ministry of Education Bulk Funding grants associated with these programmes and from venue hire. The community classes are also fee paying but fees are kept low to ensure they remain accessible to as many people as possible so they just break even. The fees for our childcare activities are also kept at the lower end of the range.
The Trust is a registered charity, governed by a Board of Trustees all of whom are voluntary elected members. The operational side is managed by the Chief Executive with a team of 30 full time and up to 60 part time staff. This covers short term contracts for students to run the school holiday programmes.
This year is the 40th Anniversary of the Trust which means it is a good time to reflect on what we have achieved so far and where we are heading in the future. We are looking to engage in fundraising activity to raise the profile of the Trust, to give the Trust a more sustainable base moving forward and to enable us to expand our activities. A major project this year is the upgrading of the Gladstone Park Childcare Centre at a budgeted cost of $65,000 plus $45,000 for outdoor area upgrading. A total of $110,000. We are self funding the interior upgrade but the exterior is simply not possible at the present time. We are looking to access special project grant funding where it is available and to hold a major fundraiser so that we can establish a Trust fund to place us in a stronger position going forward. We are also looking to partner with local community groups such as Rotary to discuss working together on the major fundraiser and cementing an ongoing relationship.
Additional information about the Trust can be found on our website
villagesquare.org.nz facebook.com/parnellcommunitycentre facebook.com/epsomcommunitycentre
