The Dorothy Parkes Centre is an award-winning community centre based in Smethwick. We opened in 2000, and we are a place of welcome and opportunity, accessible to all, open seven days a week. Our mission is to provide a warm, safe, and accessible space for opportunities to bring people and organisations together in a spirit of friendship and equality, enabling our local community to thrive and enjoy a better quality of life.
We deliver a wide range of projects including activities such as:
- Community Gardening
- Youth Clubs
- Creative Groups
- Fitness Classes
- Social Groups
- Martial Arts and Dance
- Community Litter Picking
- Weight Management
- Bereavement Support
We distribute food vouchers, free school uniform, host police, and council drop-in surgeries and we promote other events and programmes happening throughout the borough. The number of users is approximately 750 per week. Our Centre is community led and we regularly consult and engage with the local community members via open days, social media, and a Support and Development Group made up of local stakeholders.
Our building is regularly used by local statutory and voluntary organisations as a meeting place for training, displays or fayres. It is a popular venue for parties and celebrations at weekends. We have a small team made up of staff and volunteers who are all passionate about making a difference in our local community. We work hard to promote our Centre and we take pride in listening to our local community and giving them a voice and a platform for them to help us to help them become more empowered. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered charity number 1093189 and we are Trusted Charity Level One Quality Mark accredited.
