Month: October 2016

Building social change through local action in communities

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How do we make our local communities better place to live, work and play? That’s one of the key questions that individuals and organisations from across the country will be trying to answer at an unique event in Port Talbot (Wales).screen-shot-2016-10-17-at-20-36-43

Pioneering community groups from Aberystwyth, Connah’s Quay and Port Talbot, will get a chance to showcase their work to funders, investors and local and national government. The aim being to build new partnerships to help the ideas grow and to encourage others to follow suit. The Amplify Cymru event will also see the launch of new research, developed by local people, highlighting views and ideas about what they see is good in their local areas, what works and what more can be done. Among the local projects being showcased are a hyperlocal news site, a surplus food waste and redistribution service, a dementia cafe and a community gym.

The one-day event is being hosted at a boxing club in Port Talbot that is now run as a community development centre. The Bulldogs was formed to give young people in the town a fighting chance in life. It uses boxing and non-contact training as the starting point of a unique personal development .

Mal Emerson, Communities Activities Manager, The Bulldogs said:“We’re pleased to be able to host and take part in this inspiring event. At The Bulldogs we have started something unique, that’s growing with the needs of our local community. What was once a boxing club, is now much more than that. We provide support and mentoring to young people to help them make the right choices in their lives. We help people to connect with employers and have a network of businesses who can contact us when they job opportunities. We’re also now working with young children in care and armed forces veterans dealing with their own issues.”

Amplify Cymru has been working in the three localities, running workshops and coaching sessions with a variety of community and social enterprises, to help them improve what they do and think big about how they could adapt to increase impact. The programme is run by The Young Foundation who have similar projects in Northern Ireland and the north of England.