Funkee website goes bananas

Posted on August 16, 2007

A website especially for young people in South Beds is going from strength to strength after its first year.

FunkeeMunkee.co.uk was set up to provide health and social information for youngsters, and it is fast become a crucial resource in the district.

As well as carrying information about events in the area, it is also packed with links to useful agencies which can help out with all kinds of problems and concerns.

The website is run by Alcohol Services for the Community and funded by the South Bedfordshire Local Strategic Partnership.

Rachel Keith from Alcohol Services for the Community said: "It's going very well, there's a growing amount of information on there. It's very colourful and it's growing in content all the time."

The website was set up so that youngsters all over the district don't miss out on important events and health information.

Rachel added: "South Beds is like any area, it's got a mixture of communities. The idea is that the website is for people who don't hear about things and who miss out on what's going on. Now they've got this place that gives them all the information they need."

So far Rachel said feedback from young people has been good.

One website user enthused: "I like the look of Funkee Munkee. It's interesting and eye-catching and the graphics are good too."

Another added: "Information, events, real people, competitions and a. really happy monkey - what more could you possibly want?"

As well as guest columns from a number of local organisations, the site also boasts book reviews and theatre listings.

And true to its name, the site also sponsors an African patas monkey called Chibber.

There has already been a FunkeeMunkee site running in Mid Beds for three years.

The website name was picked out by youngsters ahead of its launch.

To celebrate the big day in South Beds, members of the FunkeeMunkee team hit the streets of Dunstable and Houghton Regis to give out free bananas and goodies.

Website volunteers Robert Day, Timothy Day and Nick Porter, and co-ordinators Helen Reynolds-Smith and Alison Colver are pictured, above outside The Place in High Street North, Dunstable.

Source: Dave Burke, Dunstable Gazette, 15 August 2007