Share your memories of Bucaan Community House

BUCAAN Community House (BCH) in Chigwell is turning 40, and the team at the House is asking the community to help tell its story as part of a big celebration planned for October.
Established by the community in 1986, Chigwell Community House was officially opened by the Hon Ray Groom MHA.
The organisation changed its name to Bucaan, after the street it’s on, sometime in the early 2000s, after the nearby Chigwell House building was reopened by Mission Australia, causing confusion between the two organisations.
“Over four decades the House has grown from a space for locals to meet for a cuppa and a chat to delivering more than 20 programs and supporting 900 people each week” BCH Mary-Anne Evans said.
Programs locals may remember include the long-running Chigwell Support Program, the youth centre and Child and Family Learning Centre it helped establish and, more recently, management of the Chigwell Community Garden, the Full Gear and U-Caan Drive learner driver programs and the youth arts program Crewative Arts Connect.
To mark the milestone, BCH is holding an 80s-themed disco and pizza party at the Chigwell Barn on 14 October from 3:30pm to 5:30pm.
Ms Evans is calling on the community to help with a planned history wall:
“We’d love it if community members would share photos, newspaper clippings, stories and names of people involved with the House, particularly from the 1980s and 1990s, and anyone who remembers the House being built,” she said.
Photos and memories can be shared in person at 8 Bucaan Street, by phone on 6249 5363, or by email at coordinator@chigwellcommunity.org.au.
Free tickets for the 40th birthday party are available now via the House Facebook page or at www.events.humanitix.com/bucaan-community-house-turns-40