UPDATE: The project comes together

I have been working on this project for several months as part of the Youth Forum and am really excited now at how fast the project is moving forward. The physical work on the crypt (decorating etc..) might begin as early as the end of this month and all of the hardware and furniture has been bought already with the generous funding we have received.

Furthermore, 80% of the money required for a full time professional youth worker to work in Marlow for 3 years has been secured. We are looking into organising a weekend trip to an activity centre to get to know the Youth Worker a little better.

This is what the crypt looks like at the moment – as you can see it has been pretty much cleared but is still in need of a lick of paint! The crypt seems to get bigger every time that I go in, and I am sure that we will have space for all of the stuff we have bought and still have room for people to relax.

This photo shows the total space we have. A large TV for films etc... will be at one end, with a bar at the end opposite end. There will be a pool table in the centre and games consoles in the alcoves in the either side. Of course, there will be very comfy chairs around too for conversation and relaxation. There is the possibility of holding events in the crypt too, like a Battle of the Bands.

This is the entrance (looking quite spooky!). There will be a security camera to keep the area safe and the door will be reinforced/replaced.

As this picture shows, the transformation should be fantastic. This is taken from a similar place, and shows what kind of a space we are aiming for. I think ours should be better, with games consoles and high quality furniture and better decoration.

Crypt Cafe already setup in London Church

The above is a lovely church we visited called St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square-London.
It too has a crypt and they have converted it to a large fully functioning cafe! complete with elaberate street entrance!
Our community group visited it on Sat as we were in london.
They have laods more space to work with when compared to All Saints - There ceiling is normal height which lends itself towards the larger spread of tables and chairs and a more fuller catering service.
However you dont get the cosy atmosphere that Marlow crypt will create which i think is a plus point - they had exposed a lot of the brick work and sanded it down which i think looked really great. hoefully tese pics will give some ideas and insiration for the decor for marlow crypt!

Youth Crypt Project

Hi all - sorry for my lack of blogging. It has been a busy few months since my last post!
Hopefully this slightly larger update will keep you all in the loop!

Heres some of the key events the youth have been involved in:

- Designed and produced a Questionnaire about the current Youth amenities in Marlow. The survey they then carried out on nealry 100 young community members of Marlow to find out thir thoughts on marlows current activities for the youth - or lack of them. The quaestionnaire also allowed them to collect some vey usful demographic data and highlight the areas where marlow falls short in catering for the young folk of the town.

- Organised and hosted a HOLLYWOOD DISCO party - to raise awareness and pitch ideas about the crypt

Since these iniial fact finding and awareness gathering events we have had a fair few meetings discussing:
= What needs to happen to make the crypt workable
= the Items to go in the crypt
= The budget and funding for the work
= The layout and what the different areas of the crypt could be used for

I will post some pictures on here after this update

and this week we have started discussing the Code of conduct and the rules and
regulations that should govern the youngsters behaviour and use of the crypt.So some very important documents to be drawn up with the ideas and inoput coming from the youth forum steering group.

The Youth Forum has been very busy and we have had so much support and encourngement it has been great!

If anyone has any comments or feedback or even more information/help then please do contact myself on the Youth Forum mailbox:: youth@morethansunday.co.uk
I will endevour to provide more regular updates from now on.

Regards

Gareth Jones