Social Action Hubs are grassroots organisations that are committed to building community power through community organising. To find out more about social action hubs and join the growing network click the link below
Wigan and Leigh Community Charity Celebrate 25 Years
Wigan and Leigh Community Charity are one of our new Social Action Hubs and are celebrating 25 years of contributing to the education, employment and enterprise provision in their area.
Their journey began in 1999 when they secured lottery funding to transform a disused block of flats on Ribble Road into a vital community resource: the Platt Bridge Youth Zone.
The vision was to not only create a youth zone, but also to house business start up until, a nursery, cafe and a dedicated space for local residents.
This came under ownership of Wigan Council in 2001 and was then funded by Wigan Council’s Community Investment Fund in 2013, whereby Abram Ward Community Cooperative was first established.
In 2017, the organisation relaunched Platt Bridge Community Zone as a community business hub and introduced the “Made in Wigan” brand aimed at reducing inequality through the growth of community businesses. They are now known as Wigan and Leigh Community Charity and today the team is committed to serving the area with ambitious plans on the horizon.
“Looking ahead, we don’t want to lose the grassroots of where we started, such as developing a neighbourhood plan in Abram Ward which is due to go to referendum.
We want to continue to grow the local Social Enterprise Network and ultimately start to see more places and hubs pop up in other neighbourhoods that might not be as fully engaged yet in this sector, so we’d like to support those.
Dave Baxter, Founder
They are committed to using a community organising approach to do this, as this will enable them to reach out and connect with people who have not traditionally engaged so far.
They decided upon this approach after undertaking training with us, which led to them becoming one of our Social Action Hubs; so they can develop their organising knowledge further and embed organising in their organisation.
This will help hopefully them to grow their network with the overall aim to get more people into work and/or education.
And we are excited to go on this journey with them.
In every community there is latent potential and talent that exists if only the community are given the chance to have their voice heard and are empowered to unlock it. That is exactly what Social Action Hubs like Wigan and Leigh Community do, by using organising to reach out, listen and connect. And most importantly develop a culture of possibility where people believe in their ability to create change and are supported to take ownership.
Nick Gardham, CEO Community Organisers
You can find out how you can become a Social Action Hub HERE
Develop a Social Action Hub
Social Action Hubs are grassroots organisations that are committed to building community power through community organising. Join our powerful and growing network by clicking the link below...
