Crusaders – McDonald Centre
SIF provided funding of over £1.1m for the construction of a new legacy building that will facilitate and accommodate education, training, culture and leisure provision. It will provide innovative development pathways for participants via the training, mentoring and facilitation programmes offered and will engage and sustain links with local education establishments and providers.
Project Name: | Crusaders – McDonald Centre |
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Zone: | Belfast North |
Category: | Capital |
Social Investment Fund Outcome: | Increasing Community Services |
Status: | Operational – Construction Complete |
Funding awarded: | £1,142,945 |
About the Project
The project involved the construction of a modern community hub named ‘The McDonald Centre’ that will deliver a wide range of vital community services for all ages and will accommodate childcare amenities including a crèche, a multifunctional education centre, a community gym and health suite, a cultural centre and a sports café, with disabled access throughout. It will provide innovative development pathways for the local community through training and facilitation programmes offered such as ICT, essential skills, pre-employment and interview planning, and has engaged and sustained links with local education establishments and providers. The aim is to tackle underachievement, promoting self-improvement and healthy living.
Progress to date
The McDonald Centre has completed construction and service delivery is commencing. The project has provided a community centre designed to deliver local services, second-chance education, sports, recreation and social outlets - all focused on improving the life chances, skills and opportunities for the local communities in Lower North Belfast. This investment will help bring communities together and assist future generations of local people achieve their full potential and ultimately lead to increased employment opportunities.
Impacts
Monitoring and evaluation of all Social Investment Fund projects is carried out using “Outcomes Based Accountability” (OBA). Where SIF has funded capital works, the project provides quarterly “post-capital” data for a period of 3 years which details the positive impacts enabled by the capital works undertaken. OBA data collection is continuing for the final capital infographic. The Crusaders project is in the early stages of post capital OBA returns and OBA data collection is ongoing for the final post capital infographic.
