Ilkeston u3a: Consistent and ever-improving

Stephen, Vice Chair of Ilkeston u3a, talks about some of their thriving groups.

Ilkeston u3a was launched in 2012, has just short of 230 members and serves Ilkeston and surrounding areas. Ilkeston currently has cluster group affiliations with Long Eaton, Beeston, Stapleford, and Derby u3a’s.

Whilst Ilkeston u3a is a small organisation, it really punches above its weight in participative activities: there are 35 interest groups, most meeting monthly except for seasonal outdoor sports like flat green bowling and the garden group. We know that more than 87% of our membership attend at least one group and 55% attend more than one. It is true – people join the u3a to participate in its groups! In addition, 50% of our membership attend the monthly meeting which is a goodly number indeed.

The newest group is the Scala Cinema Group. The Scala is one of Ilkeston’s historical sites, operating since 1913 and located in the centre of Ilkeston. History Group 2 has taken to identifying all of the coal mining operations sitting within a five-mile radius of the town centre – going back into the 1400’s! And there are many! The Group intends to assemble all of their findings into a single document and generate a large 3x3 ft map identifying the locations of the various operations, by century!

Ilkeston u3a could not function without its volunteers: there are 60 members in all taking on such tasks as meet, greet and reception functions, organising refreshments, volunteering at events, leading interest groups, editing newsletters and participating in committee activities. Last year we created a STARs team – ‘Small Tasks as Required’ and we ask them to help with extra tasks in rotation.

At Ilkeston u3a, we understand the importance of digital communication and our website is currently being refreshed. We are embarking on a social media presence very soon with the launch of a Facebook page to promote u3a generally and attract new local membership. That is all happening right now!

As part of National u3a Week, we have a week-long promotional display at our local library and will hold our showcase Interest Groups Fair on Tuesday, 1 October at The Arena, Ilkeston beginning at 10:00. We are looking forward to welcoming many new faces at the fair and beyond!

Pictured: A windmill in Ilkeston.