Suzanne Coward and Linda Kelly

When Suzanne Coward’s daughter Sarah, who has learning difficulties, turned 23, she realised she could use direct payment money to set up a cafe, Stepping Stones. Situated in Sutton Coldfield at the United Reform church, the cafe offers a day experience for people with learning difficulties to hang out, socialise and feel enabled to do things which they wouldn’t often get the opportunity to do.

Suzanne saw a gap in the north of the city, where there were no social enterprise services for people with learning difficulties. She wants to encourage healthy living, exercise and creating things which are meaningful for people with learning difficulties. Linda Kelly, Senior Youth and Community Development Worker in Sutton Coldfield, has nominated Suzanne for the active citizen Local Hearts award for the work she has done for children with learning difficulties.

Jan Quigley and Barry Toon

Starting community work in the 1960s, Barry Toom has had the chance to see how community work and attitudes towards it has changed through the decades. A tireless worker for the Bournbrook Community Safety Project, as well as the TARA neighbourhood forum, Barry Toon feels like a veteran in community work – and now his years has been acknowledged by being shortlisted for the Lifetime Achievement award, for Birmingham’s Local Hearts Awards, nominated by Jan Quigley.

Barry’s work has revolved around making sure we prepared for an emergency – as part of the Birmingham Resilience Team he has helped to make sure people know what to do in case of man-made and natural disasters. Barry thinks in all decades people will campaign for change – but things aren’t always how they used to be. Here’s his story.

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Maureen Murphy and Gary Ladbrooke

Maureen Murphy is not one to sit quietly and wait for things to happen – after loudly campaigning for a new crossing in Minworth, she was approached by the Walmley Residents Association and has been their chairperson for the last 20 years.

Now, she says, she still gets quiet satisfaction when she sees people crossing the road safely, and is encouraged to continue giving a voice to people who don’t know where to go. Senior Constituency Manager for Sutton Coldfield – Gary Ladbrooke – has nominated Maureen for Birmingham’s Local Hearts Award for the lifetime achievement award – a recognition of her tireless work in the community. Maureen was first interviewed by the Grassroots Channel in 2005.

Here she talks to us about what keeps her going, and why she thinks making a stand is so important.

Aimee Coakley first came across the Hawksley “young vols” as a small child.  She watched them working in her neighbourhood in Kings Norton in Birmingham and wanted to be one.

Now she is and has already traveled as far afield as France and India, cleaned streets, helped people keep their garden tidy and supported friends and neighbours.  She even got her job because of her volunteer experience. Hers is just one of dozens of stories which explain why the Hawksley Young Volunteers were shortlisted for a Local Hearts Awards in October 2009.  For more, listen to the podcast below.

To subscribe to more Grassroots Channel podcast in iTunes click here – which will open iTunes on the right page. Here is our RSS feed: http://podnosh.com/channels/channel_grassroots_feed.php

Involve is Northfield’s Young Peoples Forum – it was set up in 2005 for 12-19-year-olds.

the group is given money by local government, which they  then distribute to young people to help them run various activities or projects which they would not otherwise have been able to do. Through this they help young people develop a number of skills such as organisation, teamwork and communication skills. INVOLVE believe they are giving a voice to young people – to get their opinions across to people with power in Northfield and to further that they recently launched their own website: www.involvenorthfield.com.

In the last three years the group have distributed £75,000 of community chest money and £20,000 of youth opportunity fund to individual young people and groups and projects. They recently started their own radio show and videocasting channel – getting young people to comment and debate on prominent issues such as abuse in a relationship. This podcast was recorded in October 2009, just after they had been shortlisted for Local Hearts Award. It has Nick Booth talking to Karen Cheney, Luke Bowles, Sophie Lynch, Jo – spoz – Esposito and Lauren Synott.

Click below to listen to the podcast

To subscribe to more Grassroots Channel podcast in iTunes click here – which will open iTunes on the right page. Here is our RSS feed: http://podnosh.com/channels/channel_grassroots_feed.php ]]> http://birminghamlocaldemocracyweek.com/2009/10/20/involve-northfield-a-podcast/feed/ 0 Involve is Northfield’s Young Peoples Forum – it was set up in 2005 for 12-19-year-olds. the group is given money by local government, which they  then distribute to young people to help them run various activities or projects which they would not otherwise have been able to do. Through this they help young people develop a number of skills such as organisation, teamwork and communication skills. INVOLVE believe they are giving a voice to young people – to get their opinions across to people with power in Northfield and to further that they recently launched their own website: www.involvenorthfield.com. In the last three years the group have distributed £75,000 of community chest money and £20,000 of youth opportunity fund to individual young people and groups and projects. They recently started their own radio show and videocasting channel – getting young people to comment and debate on prominent issues such as abuse in a relationship. This podcast was recorded in October 2009, just after they had been shortlisted for Local Hearts Award. It has Nick Booth talking to Karen Cheney, Luke Bowles, Sophie Lynch, Jo – spoz – Esposito and Lauren Synott. Click below to listen to the podcast To subscribe to more Grassroots Channel podcast in iTunes click here – which will open iTunes on the right page. Here is our RSS feed: http://podnosh.com/channels/channel_grassroots_feed.php Involve is Northfield’s Young Peoples Forum – it was set up in 2005 for 12-19-year-olds. the group is given money by local government, which they  then distribute to young people to help them run various activities or projects which they would [...] http://birminghamlocaldemocracyweek.com/2009/10/20/erdington-constituency-childrens-forum-a-podcast/ http://birminghamlocaldemocracyweek.com/2009/10/20/erdington-constituency-childrens-forum-a-podcast/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:56:13 +0000 Nick Booth http://birminghamlocaldemocracyweek.com/?p=309

Nicole White and Rourke Holmes have been training adults.  They  volunteer with different organisations in the Erdington Constituency of the City of Birmingham to help they appreciate how young people view the world.

The aim is very simple, to improve the relationship between government services and the young people who use them in Erdington.

The Forum began in 2005 when the Erdington Constituency asked a group of young people to set up a consultation in the form of a questionnaire which asked about issues which affect them and their peers. One of the questions was, “Who would you prefer to ask you questions – children, or adults” – and all the children said adults. But it became clear adults lacked knowledge and how to engage with kids in the decision making process.

The Children’s Forum made a training package for the adults looking at the benefits and barriers of involving children. The forum has also tracked the progress made following the training every six months and run a second training session to build on what has been achieved.

Over four years ECCF have reached over 258 adults and 486 children.  This podcast, with Tom Sandars,  was recorded just before the Local Hearts Awards October 2009 – where the group was shortlisted for the award for Young People’s Group.

Click below to listen to the podcast

To subscribe to more Grassroots Channel podcasts in iTunes click here and with rss click here. ]]> http://birminghamlocaldemocracyweek.com/2009/10/20/erdington-constituency-childrens-forum-a-podcast/feed/ 0 Nicole White and Rourke Holmes have been training adults.  They  volunteer with different organisations in the Erdington Constituency of the City of Birmingham to help they appreciate how young people view the world. The aim is very simple, to improve the relationship between government services and the young people who use them in Erdington. The Forum began in 2005 when the Erdington Constituency asked a group of young people to set up a consultation in the form of a questionnaire which asked about issues which affect them and their peers. One of the questions was, “Who would you prefer to ask you questions – children, or adults” – and all the children said adults. But it became clear adults lacked knowledge and how to engage with kids in the decision making process. The Children’s Forum made a training package for the adults looking at the benefits and barriers of involving children. The forum has also tracked the progress made following the training every six months and run a second training session to build on what has been achieved. Over four years ECCF have reached over 258 adults and 486 children.  This podcast, with Tom Sandars,  was recorded just before the Local Hearts Awards October 2009 – where the group was shortlisted for the award for Young People’s Group. Click below to listen to the podcast To subscribe to more Grassroots Channel podcasts in iTunes click here and with rss click here. Nicole White and Rourke Holmes have been training adults.  They  volunteer with different organisations in the Erdington Constituency of the City of Birmingham to help they appreciate how young people view the world. The aim is very simple, to [...]