Save the loft
Channel: The Net Network
Date: 05/05/2013

Banging out some improv blues at the Save The Loft rally outside Newcastle City Hall. 

The Loft Youth Venue is Newcastle's only dedicated AA venue & cultural centre. The Newcastle City Council's latest draft budget wants to see it shut down. Make your voice heard!

An important part of making your voice heard about The Loft is writing a letter to the members of Newcastle City Council to let them know that you believe The Loft should stay open to the public

Not sure how to do that? No worries!

Save The Loft have crafted a template to help you along the way, he have created a basic format, but left the middle blank for you to put your own experiences and thoughts in.

A full list of the councillors of NCC (as well as the wards they reside in) can be found here:
http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/council/elected_council/elected_council

It is best to contact the councillors that work in your ward, but make sure you also send your email to Lord Mayor Jeff McCloy!

TEMPLATE:

Dear Councillor,
I am writing this letter to express my support for The Loft Youth Venue, and I believe that it should be taken off the new draft budget, and continue to stay operating.

The Loft provides a number of services to the youth of Newcastle, ranging from workshop and events to holiday programs, and more. The Loft is a place for all young people creative & marginalised, it isn't a place for the rich nor a place for those of us that struggle day to day.

The young people that access The Loft are form all parts of our communities and can all go to the loft and express themselves freely.

I believe that shutting down The Loft will not have a meaningful impact on bringing the budget into surplus, It will take away the only service of its kind in Newcastle and no other services can do this work. The loft runs many projects on Grants  that could be lost as a result of The Loft Closing, The Loft won commendation for the active arts category in the National Local Government Awards and also winners of the 2010 National Drug & Alcohol award for services to Young People, and have won many more cultural awards over the past 3 years.

The Loft programs link with many aspects of the Newcastle City Council 2030 Community Plan.

(WRITE WHATEVER YOU WANT HERE. WHY YOU THINK THE LOFT SHOULD STAY/PERSONAL EXPERIENCES BE POLITE AND POSITIVE!)

This is why I think The Loft is still a valuable asset to the Newcastle City Council. Their service to the youth of Newcastle is invaluable. that The Loft Youth Venue is one service that should not be cut

If you are also in support of keeping The Loft, I would encourage you to like this page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-The-Loft

Thank You,
(Name)
(Email)

Note: Please keep these letters polite and positive. Negative letters with language, attacks and threats make the youth of Newcastle and Save The Loft look bad, and that's the opposite of what we want.