Having once lived in North East Valley for 20 years, Ms Vercoe is thrilled to have returned to her former stomping ground.
The former Otago Farmers Market manager for eight years, Ms Vercoe took a year off to landscape a new property, and is excited to be taking on a new challenge.
"The valley community is a bigger and more diverse community than it was when I lived here before and I am really excited to get the chance to talk with local people about what they need from us," she said.
At present, the Valley Project did a lot of service-oriented work, and events remained difficult due to the pandemic, so it was important to do some strategic planning.
Ms Vercoe said the Valley Project had been the first organisation to operate under the place-based funding scheme, and the fact that Dunedin City Council had once again funded it to the tune of $62,500 was a wonderful endorsement.
"It is so great to have that funding support, which helps cover our operating costs."
Consultation with the community would be vital as the Valley Project planned for the way forward.
"It is important to understand what makes a good community, and the valley and its surrounds are a really good community," she said.
"Now we need to understand how we keep growing that."
At the moment, the Valley Project rooms continue to be open for reduced hours — from 10am to 2pm, Tuesday to Thursday.
