Wollongong City Council’s Community Cultural and Library Services Division program Volunteering Illawarra will launch a new Community Facilities Website on 2 May 2011.

Development of the site has been a joint venture between Volunteering Illawarra and the Informatics Faculty of the University of Wollongong, who have worked with a number of local community organisations.

The site links the Community Centres of Bellambi, Berkeley, Bulli, Cringila, Dapto, Horsley, Koonawarra, Port Kembla, Thirroul, Unanderra – Figtree and Warrawong to a single site where citizens can search for activities and functions in their local area and surrounds.

A single portal site, providing Community Centres with a “face” on the web, was identified as a priority for local community centres in 2010 and by incorporating a search function into the website residents can now easily search for activities at their local community facility.  The site also provides a number of smaller Community Centres with an opportunity to have their organisation’s services showcased on the internet, something they were previously unable to afford.

Students from the University of Wollongong’s Informatics Department designed and built the site as part of their degree requirements, and Koonawarra Community Centre agreed to host the domain.

A photograph of each Community Facility on the opening webpage (www.wollongongcommunitycentres.org.au) enables new citizens to the area or those with limited English skills to identify their local Community Centre from the photograph.

Jenny Thompson, Council’s Manager of Community Cultural and Library Services, said this has been a great opportunity for Volunteering Illawarra to work with the University of Wollongong on a project that builds community capacity, while meeting students’ educational needs.