Summer Community Cash

We gathered on Tuesday evening, in the cool and the rain after a spell of very hot weather for Julys Community Cash. Together we invested £670 between four great community ideas and heard back from 6 people who’d previously been investment in.

First up was Maureen who was pitching for £200 for an idea she’d hatched with Lisa. They want to host an art exhibition with cheese and wine. They’ve already a number of artists interested and Lisa is well known for her cheese boards. After much deliberation, especially with the children attending who weren’t sure if they wanted to invest the full £200, £200 investment was agreed. The art exhibition will take place at CommUnity Corner on Friday 3rd October.

Next up was Kay. Kay was wanting to create a monthly evening space where people can come together to share their love of art. She’d been in touch with CommUnity Corner who suggested she come along to CommUnity Cash to pitch for some shared resources for people who might be interested and need a bit of a hand with equipment and materials initially. She was pitching for £50. Dave, an experienced pitcher, was the first to suggest that Kay raise the amount she was asking for. He said he’d learned from pitching that things cost more than you think. He suggested £200. After discussion and deliberation in the room, people voted and Kay was awarded £200. Kay will host the group on the second Wednesday of every month starting from the 13th August. She’ll be creating a poster to promote. 

Aubrey was up next. She’d written a presentation on the back of a piece of wallpaper and once she rolled it out her Mum held it up for her. She’d been along to the Playbox design workshops and seen the love of art. She’d also for some time been thinking about hosting an art exhibition at her own house and inviting people to come and visit and see the art she and her brother produce. Aubrey was pitching for £200 to run an art exhibition purely for children and had included things like materials, art packs and snacks. We all chatted together and shared ideas about how it might work and Aubrey was awarded £200 to bring her exhibition to life. A date isn’t set as yet so keep your eye on the Facebook group, WhatsApp group and noticeboard at the Playbox.

Ashleigh was up next. She has completed the community survey at the end of last year saying she’d really like to set up a summer play scheme for children who need a quieter, more contained space. With a bit of support from the community, parents in a similar position and the holiday activity fund, Ashleigh has created a brilliant summer offer that was almost fully booked. She’d encountered an unexpected and last minute cost to print and laminate communication boards and needed £70. Everyone agreed this was a fantastic investment. Ashleigh shared that working with the local scouts was providing an opportunity to think about how they might work together in the future providing beavers, cub and scout groups. Erika, who was in the room to share how the investment she’d received had been spent, happened to be an explorer, and offered to volunteer her time to the new group. Ashleigh and Erika shared contact details and we’ll be excited to see what emerges.

It was then time for people who’d received investment in March to share their progress.

Dave was up first and he provided an update on two previous investments.

The first was £200 he’d received to create a poetry book. He was intending to sell the books and share the profits with CommUnity Corner. The book design had been finalised and was almost ready to print. 

He’d received a further £200 on behalf of the Poetry and Creative writing group. They’d hosted their first spoken word night in May which had been a great success. The poems and art work were displayed in CommUnity Corner and they’d offered a further recital at the Food Festival. Dave had also successfully received a further £200 from Grass Roots of Wigan for another recital. The next one is planned for Friday 15th August. Dave shared how the creative writing has grown since investment. They meet on the first Wednesday of every month from 6pm at CommUnity Corner.

Erika shared how the £40 investment received for rugby sponsorship had enabled the team to travel to away matches and tournaments that they might not have been able to attend. They’d also raised enough funds to enable the purchase of kits for training. 

Ava and Bonny came to share how they’d spent the £140. They’d asked for Easter bunny costumes and crème eggs to help raise funds for a community trip to Gullivers world. They’d already been doing quite a bit of fundraising. They managed to raise enough to pay for the coach, making it a cheaper day out for families. They’d also dressed up on Easter Sunday and delivered Easter eggs in the local community thanks to a donation from Daffodil Dreams. They loved this and would love to do it again.

Emma had been awarded £186 to undertake a photography project focussing on scars and wellbeing. She shared that the photos had been taken and printed and alls that was left to do was gold leaf the scars with the people involved. She still had some funds left and asked if that could be used to mount the art and prepare the photographs for the art exhibition in October. Group members agreed that this was a good use of the money. 

Phil was the last to provide an update. He’d pitched for £84 to replace the pads on the defibrillator situated outside of CommUnity Corner. This has been completed and thankfully has never been needed to be used. 

Ava rounded off the evening with a poem she’d written called ‘Pebbles’ which is to feature in an anthology of poems. She’ll also be reciting her poem at the next spoken word gathering in August. 

Another great evening at Community Cash. The next gathering is on Tuesday 14th October 6-8pm.