The Woodside community centre is home to the charity organisation Fersands and Fountain, the SCIO charity offers a range of services for people of all ages including youth groups, a nursery and a food pantry.
Woodside locals will know it as the purple building, thanks to its colourful exterior but I wanted to get to know the man behind it all, Mark Lovie. Who has recently been recognised for a Youth link Scotland lifetime achievement award, for 35 years he has worked as the Project Coordinator and along with his team they manage the day to day running of the charity.
Let’s start off with a bit about your background, did you grow up in Woodside?
“I was born and bred in Mastrick, not far from here just a few miles away, top of the hill, went to Summerhill Academy”.
“I’m an Aberdeen boy, I haven’t really ventured far.”
You said you didn’t grow up in Woodside, but did you know the area at all, being quite close?
“I did when I was a student, I lived here for a very short time, a couple of months. I wasn’t unfamiliar with the area, I knew about its reputation it was a little bit of a scary place for me. Mastick was quite nice, and Woodside was a little bit rougher than that.”
He explained how it was a “hard to let area” meaning it was mainly just students and single people who lived there throwing off the balance and creating a home for anti-social behaviour.
“There was a lot of empty houses and drugs in the area, desperate people in the area, it wasn’t safe to live on the bottom floor because you where an easy target.
I wanted to know if it still had that same reputation, or if things had improved from his student days.
“I think there has been some huge improvements over the years”
“The immigration happened, and Aberdeen became an attractive place for the Eastern Europeans and all of a sudden there is more families coming to the area, and the balance changes again there is lots of young workers coming to the area and so there is a new chapter”
How did you get into your role here?
“Well, I was very lucky to get a job as a trainee community worker in Tullos and I did a three-year apprenticeship course, which meant I was allowed to work and earn money while training to be a community worker”.
“One of the first jobs that came was Fersands and Fountain Community Project and they had a great reputation in the city”.
He was “chuffed” with the offer.
“It was like signing for a premier league football team.”
Can you explain what you do on a day-to-day basis?
“Well, I’m the manager of Fersands and Fountain, the organisation provides a lot of services and it’s my job to make sure that everything is running smoothly and were doing what we say what we are doing.”
“I’m lucky, everybody thinks I do all the work and I get the praise for everything, but it’s all the volunteers and workers that do all the hard work”
What is your favourite part about working at Fersands?
“Just working with people, getting reactions from people getting smiles from people.”
“Sometimes I feel like a little celebrity, you know, I walk past the nursery and 5 kids shout back hello.”
“I feel like a popstar, I like a little bit of fame I suppose.”
What would be the toughest part of your job?
“It’s difficult sometimes just nae being able to help, we are limited, we canny do everything and so sometimes we have to say sorry we canny help and direct them to somewhere else.”
“That’s the worst thing I suppose having to reject people.”
Is there anything in particular that you are really proud of that you have managed to achieve here?
“There is so much, every year we do something and that’s why I’ve been here so long because it’s a very varied sort of job. We have a nursery downstairs with 40 children and it’s really a great resource”.
“Yea, that obviously makes me very proud at the high standard of care and that delivery of service that they give to the children, that’s fantastic, there is nothing more important than giving kids a good start to life.”
“Kids in this area really need it, it’s a wonderful thing to be part of.”
After talking to Mark, it was obviously that he loved his job, the way he answered each question so easily and with a bit of banter too just a really genuine guy. He took real pride is his role and understood the lifeline that the charity is for so many residents of Woodside. He was passionate about their new projects too.
“We are an ambitious and imaginative kind of project”
Telling me all about the new nursery garden and youth wing. Fersands and Fountain pump the blood around woodside feeding, educating and just simply supporting all the people who live there and none of it would be possible without the incredible team that work and volunteer at the purple building.
Olivia Andrews
