Youth
HISTORY OF COOLAH YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTRE CYCC
The history of the CYCC is very important to all involved now as well as in the past.
The first Coolah Youth Group was set up in 1985 after two public meetings. Through many years of hard work in fundraising, particularly with catering to sales and events and raffles, the organization was still unstructured and in 1991, another attempt was made to kick-start it by auspicing under Coolah Lions. In 1993, four blocks of land were purchased, and in 1994, the CYCC was incorporated and registered as a charity. In 1995, the Youth Group and CYCC amalgamated
From the records on hand, 1998 was an exciting year with the purchase of the Masonic Hall for $25,000.00. The dream of a purpose built complex on the blocks of land (near RFS building) seemed impossible to realise so the decision was made to accept the generous offer of the Masons. This acquisition was not without a lot of work (and money) to make improvements including a grant for amenities block.
Those who were in Coolah will remember the excitement of drawing the Holden Barina car raffle on Christmas Eve 1999. And the overwhelming generosity of Rob Main in making up the shortfall when told that not enough tickets had been sold to cover costs.
CYCC has an unfortunate record of highs and lows and was again reconstituted in 2002 following a public meeting. At this time, the four blocks of land (purchased in 1993) were under offer of sale and the finances of CYCC were depleted. A new format was drawn up for a Youth Executive and a Management Committee to assist and mentor the Youth Executive.
Coolah Shire Council generously waived the rates that had been such a drain on finances and the proceeds of the sale of land, set CYCC in the black again.
While the core aims of CYCC should be youth and community focussed, the maintenance and improvements to the hall have taken a lot of time and resources of the Youth Executive, Management Committee and other generous helpers and donors.
The Coolah Guides were welcomed to the Hall following a sad situation with the Scout Hall disposal. The current "to do" list is a) the completion of office space and storage area; and b) general painting and cleaning. The Blue Room has been scheduled for painting since 1999. Kitchen upgrade is almost complete.
There are high overheads in running an incorporated organization with Public Liability Insurance, property insurance, and volunteers insurance.
We would rather have our fundraising activities directed towards the advancement of youth services than insurance companies!