Sunset Memorial Centre : a study of community organization for recreation in South Vancouver

Community centres are a relatively new type of institution in the British Columbia recreational picture. The history of Sunset Memorial Centre was chosen for this study because it is an exceptionally interesting one, and because it is an excellent example of the community organization process. This study traces community endeavour to organize recreation in South Vancouver from its inception, about twenty years ago, through to the formation of the Sunset Community Association in 1945. The activities of the Association in its five-year campaign to provide a centre are covered. The first five months of operation of the Centre, from its opening in September, 1950, are analysed. Material for this study was gathered primarily from the records and publications of the Sunset Community Association, from newspaper articles and from the writer’s interviews with association members and other people in the community. A community survey was made to obtain background material. This study graphically illustrates the tremendous potentiality of a local association to discover and to meet community needs. It also clearly shows that for such an Association to realize fully its possibilities, it must have professional guidance. Pointed up, too, is the great need for a lay group in community organizations to be aware that in providing a facility it must also make plans for its operation. If adequate plans are not made, the community effort may, to a large extent, be wasted. The record of the many problems faced by the Association and its successful and unsuccessful attempts to solve them should be of particular value to other community associations. As the development of the present unsatisfactory arrangement between the Park Board and the Community Association, for the operation of the Centre, is covered in detail, and the implications of the operational agreement are discussed, this study may be helpful in the evaluation of the current confused state of the Vancouver Community Centre movement.Arts, Faculty ofSocial Work, School ofGraduat