Recently I was asked to share my thoughts on what it means to have a sense of common / shared identity in our place i.e. our streets, neighbourhoods, cities? And with that how can we be more imaginative and creative in drawing this out of ourselves and others? This inspired me to write a blog … More Having a common shared identity in a place
This week Jo, Al and I went on a road trip to Glasgow. We had been invited to share some of our stories of connecting with the The Church of Scotland Priority Areas Big Conversation. Their theme was seeking ‘The gifts of our communities’. We want to say a massive thank you to everyone from … More Engagement comes naturally: Jo’s story of being a leader and a connector
Cormac Russell, our good friend who has been journeying alongside us in our quest to unearth the gifts, skills and talents of our community, has recently co-written this comprehensive paper outlining the four essential elements of an Asset-Based Community Development process, and most crucially what makes it distinctive. It has been written through many years … More The four essential elements of an Asset-Based Community Development process
Bringing community to your doorstep’ begins to tell the story of our street events, and the role they play in community building here in Firs and Bromford. This summer we have done 5 more street events, and they have all been wonderful. Activities and conversations have given neighbours the opportunity to show up, feel part … More What ‘hosts’ can teach us about how to be a community
It takes a village to raise a child is a well known proverb, attributed to African culture, which is commonly used to describe a belief that it takes an entire community of different people interacting with children in order for every child to fully flourish, and grow in a safe environment. This proverb has started … More #VillageVision: It takes a village to raise a child
In the early hours of Saturday I sent a tweet as my ‘end’ to what had been an epic 8 days in our community. I did feel broken (well very emotionally and physically tired) but also fully alive and full of hope. In that moment I wasn’t ready to ‘download’ the events of the past … More 8 days in the life of a street connector
Last weekend we had our first two street events of the year. Returning for the second year of street events gave us an opportunity to reflect on why we do them, what impact do they have, and why they have become such important ‘entry points’ for people into community life. Street events are a simple … More Bringing community to your doorstep
Street Connecting is part of a wider inter-generational project called Together We Can! We have reached the end of year 1 and a report has been compiled to bring together all the learning, the impact, the stories, the challenges and our next steps. Read on to find out more and for the link to download … More Together We Can! Our annual report is hot off the press!
Bill and Pete, two of our kitchen leads, at pop-up BBQ event at Ambridge House The Real Junk Food Hodge Hill Kitchen has become a popular weekly ‘bumping space’ locally, with over 20 regular volunteers welcoming over 100 people (adults and children) every Thursday through the doors of St Wilfrid’s Community Centre, a volunteer-run centre. … More The story of the Real Junk Food Kitchen
We are privileged to tell our story as part of Cormac Russell’s reflections on 8 touchstones of Community Building. Cormac introduces our story….. The craft of community building is an intentional one, community animators and connectors are endlessly curious about how they can better create the conditions by which everyone’s gifts can be discovered and … More Touchstone Five: Building Connections and Social Interactions
