Category: Whalley Range Community Forum

 

The Whalley Range Community Forum (WRCF) is a voluntary representative residents group formed in 1995 to facilitate and improve communication between members of the community and those who serve/represent Whalley Range.

The Forum act as an umbrella organisation, bringing residents and local services together to address local issues, to promote consultation and community cohesion – and to encourage participation.
The Forum produces a bimonthly newsletter and residents meetings to address local concerns with Police, Councillors, local council and planning officials, sends out a regular email bulletins featuring opportunities, events and news to around 400 residents from Whalley Range – and co-facilitates an annual local community festival.
The Forum worker supports new and emerging groups to access funding to set up their own community groups, holds funds for unconstituted groups and addresses resident priorities by facilitating relevant classes at the JNR8 centre during school term times.
Classes and initiatives for the diverse local community include mixed and women-only ESOL classes, women fitness, Tai Chi, confidence building sessions,  basic computer and work club support and art and wellbeing classes and afternoon tea for older residents.                                                         JNR8 is also registered as a Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Centre.
The community website features local news and events, consultation links, age-friendly news and current vacancies and opportunities.

Follow @WhalleyRangeorg and @AgeFriendlyWR on Twitter

JNR8 Youth & Community Centre, 82 Cromwell Avenue, Whalley Range, M16 0BG

Tel: 0161 881 3744 | Email: communityforumwhalleyrange@gmail.com agefriendlywhalleyrange@gmail.com

Moss Side Story: Our Heritage

Heritage Poster

St James’, Moss Side has an extensive historical archive and during the week from 5th to 11th July, we will be making it available to the community as an exhibition between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm Monday 6th to Saturday 11th July.

We have arranged a number of speakers for the week who are experts in their field and each will give a presentation about Moss Side.

Programme for the week

All events (expect the final celebration in Alexandra Park) are at James Pastoral Centre, Princess Road / Great Western Street, Moss Side, M14 4TH

Sunday 5th July, 10.30 am

Past, Present and Future – Special Celebration Service to give thanks for the past and pray for the future of Moss Side.

Monday 6th July, 7.30 pm

Moss Side Yesterday and Today – A joint presentation given by Councillor Alistair Cox, Councillor for Moss Side and Mrs Gabrielle Cox. They have lived in Moss Side for 40 years serving the community in many different ways.

Tuesday 7th July, 12.30pm – 1.30pm

History of Black Manchester – Bill Williamson, retired History Professor from Manchester University is an author and expert in Manchester’s cultural history.

Refreshments provided, but you may wish to bring a packed lunch

Tuesday 7th July, 7.30 pm – (to be confirmed)

Singing with Larks – A drop in session, open to all, where anyone who wants to can come along as a one off and join in the singing. Including a couple of performance by the regular group.

Thursday 9th July, 4.00 pm

The Local History of Moss Side – Michael Wood is Professor of Public Engagement at Manchester University. His popular and successful TV series include ‘In Search of the Trojan War’, ‘In the Foorsteps of Alexander the Great’, and ‘The Story of England’. He was born in Moss Side and attended Heald Place Primary School.

Thursday 9th July, 7.30 pm

The beginnings of Moss Side Carnival – a talk by Locita Brandy. Locita was one of the first organisers of the Carnival back in the 1960s and which continues every year.

Sunday 12th July, 12.00 pm Midday

Joint Celebration in Alexandra Park – The five congregations of St James, Moss Side and St Edmund’s, Whalley Range welcome all to this community celebration!

Bring a picnic lunch and meet at the Pavilion building in the park.

Manchester Ageing Study – latest news

AFM logo

Manchester Ageing Study:

About, Awards, Links – and Photos (by Chris Foster Photography)

Dr Tine Buffel wins a Social Responsibility Making a Difference Award

Tine

(22 May 2015)

Dr Tine Buffel, School of Social Sciences and MICRA, was the winner of the University of Manchester “Outstanding Local Community Collaboration” award for her project, Manchester Ageing Study.

In this project, Tine works together with older residents, community organisations and Manchester City Council to produce research and identify actions and strategies to improve the age-friendliness of local neighbourhoods. An important feature is the active involvement of older people, who were trained as co-researchers, in all stages of the project.

The project focusses upon both researching and working with older people living in areas of high deprivation with a view to improving their experience of living in the city. It builds on policy priorities in the context of the Council being an active member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Network of “Age-Friendly Cities” (2007:12), these defined as encouraging active ageing in order to enhance quality of life as people age. The project builds on a key principle developed by the WHO: the idea of prioritizing the role of older people in developing research and action plans to improve the age-friendliness of their neighbourhood.

Through collaborative work with community organizations across three neighbourhoods in South Manchester, 18 older residents from different ethnic groups were trained to become co-researchers in the project. They have played a key role in all stages of the research, including the planning, design and implementation phases. Training sessions focused on designing interview questions, data collection and sharing/translating findings. The co-researchers conducted 68 interviews with difficult-to-reach older people about their needs to age well in the community. They also worked together with local community organisations to develop actions and strategies for social change on the basis of the research findings. In addition, 14 focus groups were held with community stakeholders to collaboratively identify opportunities for improving the age-friendliness of the different neighbourhoods.

In the next couple of Weeks we will see the release of a production film featuring the co-researchers that highlights the impact of research on ageing, urban environments and inequalities. Also, as the project nears completion Tine, with the help of her co-researchers, will release a booklet focussing on the process of involving older people in the research process.

For more information about the awards please follow the link below:


Trailer for ‘Researching Age-Friendly Cities’. A film funded by the School of Social Sciences, The University of Manchester.
Full Film available soon. (Planned film showing event at JNR8 with popcorn coming up – date tbc!)

 

Photos by Chris Foster Photography: http://www.chrisfosterphotography.com/

 

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Chris Foster Photography

Together Dementia Walk & Talk Group

walk

Our WALK & TALK GROUP has just started and we had a lovely stroll in the sunshine on Wednesday, followed by tea and cake under the verandah of the pavilion.  So, come rain or shine, we will be in the Russell Street entrance/car park of Alexandra Park at 10.45am, ready to walk at 11.  We will stroll for approximately 50 minutes and then have refreshments in the pavilion, before leaving at 12.30pm.  Gillian will lead the walk, assisted by our volunteers.  The walk is open to people living with dementia and relatives/carers.  You can just turn up but, if you phone first, then we can look out for you.  Walking is widely recognised to be of great benefit to all of us but particularly to people with dementia as it boosts circulation, relieves stress and lifts your mood.  It can also help you to sleep better.  With friendly people to chat to and different aspects of nature to observe, it should give you an improved sense of fitness and wellbeing.  And if you need to build up your stamina, dont worry, as there are plenty of benches to rest on!

Light Up Your Life! Celebrate 2015

celfest

To celebrate International Year of Light, we have six themes to the Festival

Performance/Information stalls/marquees/displays…

  • The light fantastic: dance, performance, music, movement, exercise, visual light show
  • the light touch: technology, computers, photography, healing and therapy, health and well-being
  • I see the light: celebrating diversity: representation from all of the faith groups and cultures in our diverse community, mindfulness, meditation and positivity
  • light for the future: looking at sustainability and sustainable resources, raising awareness of environmental issues, solar power
  • light and flight: to infinity and beyond, the night sky, the moon, space travel and technology, raising aspirations in employment in the field of STEM technology, space exploration, sustainable travel
  • Light Up Your Life: the ultimate theme of the Festival: participation, engagement, reducing isolation, getting to know your neighbours,

The International Year of Light

IYL2015 is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health.

The website contains some fascinating information, an events calendar including UK events…

And our Celebrate Festival!

(Bit ambitious but why not!)

http://www.light2015.org/Home/Event-Programme/2015/Other/UK-Celebrate-Community-Festival.html

We Stand Together

We Stand Together

To celebrate our difference,
Against hatred and intolerance,
To build a safer and stronger United Kingdom
We Stand Together encourages people to come together as one and celebrate their differences in order to build a safer and stronger United Kingdom.

The initiative has been launched following recent global events which have caused concern within communities across Greater Manchester.

Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy said: “Greater Manchester has a long and proud tradition of celebrating differences and sets a positive example to the rest of the world, which we should be immensely proud of.

“Recent attacks in Paris and Denmark have inevitably caused tension and fear within our communities and it is more important than ever that we come together as one and send a strong unified message that any attempt to create disharmony or fear is futile.

“We all have a responsibility to encourage community cohesion and I am calling on people to stand together against hatred and intolerance and show their support for each other during this difficult time”.

Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s deputy leader, said: “Mancunians are rightly proud to live in a diverse and thriving city where people respect and tolerate each other, but there is no escaping the fact that incidents in other parts of the world can have an impact on community tensions here.

“Now, it is more important than ever for our communities to show the world that we are continuing to stand together, despite the troubling times we are living through, and demonstrate that hatred and intolerance have no place in our city.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said: “Here in Greater Manchester, as across the land, we have strong, cohesive communities where we celebrate our diversity. But we should never take for granted the fact we live in a safe, tolerant part of the world as there are always those who would seek to drive us apart. By standing together we send out a clear and strong message that we celebrate and cherish our inclusive society, as well as recognising that we have a shared responsibility to work to safeguard it.”

Community leaders will be urging members of the public to use social media to spread the message of standing together using the hashtag #WeStandTogether

To report an incident of hate crime, please contact Greater Manchester Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. Alternatively, please report online to True Vision (www.report-it.org.uk) or use the True Vision app.

mcc 2gether1

23 March 2015
The Great Hall 
Manchester Town Hall
Event 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
 (Doors open 1:30 pm)
This year Manchester Communities Together 2015 will showcase the diversity of local opportunities and inspire you with new ways to get involved in your local neighbourhood.

Whether you  are an active resident looking for information to help your group,  some one who wants to start a group and doesn’t know where to  start or a local person looking for ways to get involved locally, you  will find it here at the Manchester Communities Together Event 2015.

The event is supported by Clean City and there will be plenty of information on how you can get involved, apply for small grants, and find out what residents, neighbours and community groups across the City are doing with Clean City.

You can choose attend workshops to help get your project off the ground

  • Starting a new group – do you want set up a residents group but don’t know where to start, find out want to consider.
  • Different ways to get people involved  – learn from the experiences of established groups
  • Greening your Alley – turn an unloved space into an urban wonderland, with funding.   See what other groups have created and how they did it.

Come along, bring a friend and join in.

Attendance is limited so please reserve your place for this interesting event by

Thursday 19 March.
To register email community.engagement@manchester.gov.uk  with your name, telephone number, the details of friends coming with you, accessibility considerations and express your interest in one or more of our workshops.  Alternatively please contact us by telephone.

0161 274 6431

Celebrate Your Alleygates Booklet

A potted history of our project:
Celebrate Your Alleygates is a Big Lottery Fund project in Whalley Range, Manchester. It was one of the winners of the Big Family Idea: a competition held by National Family Week and the Big Lottery Fund as part of the launch of National Family Week in 2009.

Please use and share our resource!

cyaalleybookletfinal (1)

Broken planters link from booklet: Planters