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Date:  13 August 2007

Hundreds of four to fifteen-year-olds embark on 'Time Travel' activity programme.

Hundreds of young people enjoyed activity programmes at Jewish Care’s Sinclair House Community Centre, which ran its ever-popular Summerworld play scheme alongside a new programme for teenagers called Urban Jewz.

Using the theme of ‘Time Travel’, the youngsters who are aged four upwards, encountered dinosaurs, cave men, pirates, spaceships and more. The characters were introduced by a ‘Mad Professor’ played by a different staff member every day, while a youth leader dressed up as an alien.

The month-long programme included outings to places such as Chessington World of Adventures, Sealife Adventure in Southend, Colchester Zoo and Diggerland. Activities have included drama, sport, cooking and arts and crafts, including a session where participants made musical instruments.

Sam Curtis, community programme manager of the centre in Woodford Bridge Road, Ilford, said: “There have been lots of good activities and everyone has had a brilliant time – and that includes the staff. We offer an important service to the community and parents are delighted that their children are being looked after in a safe and well-supervised environment where they can learn and have fun.”

She added: “I am particularly proud of the Urban Jewz programme which has had a fantastic range of activities from gardening and graffiti workshops to photography, media and fashion design. It has all gone incredibly well.”

Meanwhile, a session held on Monday 13th August reached across the generations when centre members and volunteers learned computer skills from the scheme participants. The ‘pupils’ ranged from absolute beginners to those who were computer literate and wanting to learn new tricks.

Shoshana Davis, 12, said: “I’m always on the computer at home but it’s harder to teach someone else.” Meals-on-wheels volunteer Sidney Glassberg was thrilled when Shoshana helped him to set up a hotmail account and showed him the internet – “She’s very good,” he enthused.

Day centre members Paula Brody and Eve Goldsmith were busy sending emails while volunteer Brenda Dias learned to make a birthday card using Microsoft Publisher and how to make a Powerpoint presentation. King Solomon High School pupil Joshua Linder, who had been helping Mrs Brody, described his experience of being an IT teacher as “really good. She found it hard at first then she really got the hang of it.”

Welfare services manager, Nicki Slipman, added: “It was great having the young people to help and we hope to extend the programme in the future.”