Platform launches to support community action
Melanie May | 28 May 2020 | News
Twelve community sector infrastructure organisations have come together to create an online network to inspire and enable local people to act on the issues they care about in their community.
Power to Change, Locality, Acre, Groundwork, Local Trust, Plunkett Foundation, Co-operatives UK, MHCLG, NAVCA, New Economics Foundation, NCVO and Semble are the organisations behind My Community.
Just launched, it provides resources to help people find information on the support options available as well as tools, tips and ideas to encourage more to come together and take positive community action.
The platform aims to make it easier for local people to find the guidance they need on anything from crisis response to neighbourhood planning, and business and financial support, by aggregating the resources available from the 12 partner organisations and using curated search to help users streamline the search process and locate the information most relevant to them.
All those who sign up to the platform will also be able to receive tailored email updates for new content based on their chosen areas of interest.
My Community aims to build on the community spirit seen across the country as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Research from Power to Change shows that 68% of UK adults don’t want to lose the renewed sense of community spirit seen during the crisis, and are pledging to do more in their local area when it finally ends.
However, the data also shows that a quarter of those surveyed (26%) fear that vulnerable people in their community don’t know where to go for support, while 18% believe there is a lack of community resources in their area.
In Bristol, BS3 Community Development has seen a surge in community support, with over 1,100 volunteers signing up to help their response to the crisis and provide care to those that need it most.
Dawn Lockhart, Head of Communications at BS3 Community Development, said:
“At this time of huge uncertainty it’s been truly humbling to see people in the community coming together to protect the most vulnerable.
“Quite often people want to make a difference locally but don’t know where to start. My Community provides that starting point and enables local people to act for themselves on the issues they care about.”
Main image: Covid-19 volunteers supporting older people
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.