Community News

Brighton, London or Ludlow: in 2017 it could be a list of places to visit or a reception class register. Yet it’s not just babies who get named after some of the world’s beautiful places - teddy bears are also more popular if their moniker can be found on a map. Merrythought, Britain’s last remaining luxury teddy bear manufacturer, today revealed their biggest sellers were bears named after towns and cities, with the medieval town of Shrewsbury proving more popular than the country’s capital, London.

New play activities for children are coming to Sandwell. A £330,000 grant will deliver free play and leisure sessions after school and during the holidays for six to 12-year-olds and children with special needs up to the age of 16. The council has recently awarded the cash to four voluntary groups who will run the free activities across Sandwell’s six towns. Murray Hall Community Trust will run sessions in Rowley Regis, The Albion Foundation in Smethwick, West Bromwich activities will be run by Creative Academies and Groundwork West Midlands will run sessions in Tipton, Oldbury and Wednesbury.

Yardley Residents Action Group, which represents residents in the Birmingham district of Yardley and the wider community, is hoping to save two football pitches from being built on by appealing to professional clubs to buy the land. The Barrows Lane playing fields and social club in Yardley, where Midland football stars Craig Gardner and Darren Carter first played the game, are facing a resubmitted planning application by their owner the Co-op for new homes. 

The Library of Birmingham and the British Library have received £91,700 of National Lottery funding to present Documenting Histories, a partnership project celebrating the important role South Asian culture has played in forming Birmingham’s history and identity. At the heart of the project is a major exhibition which will open in July, drawing on both libraries’ rich collections, supported by a programme of complementary events and workshops during 2017.

Marie Curie, the terminal illness charity, has teamed up with six West Midlands law firms to offer a free will-writing service for anyone aged over 55. Every year many of us make New Year’s resolutions  - lose weight, give up smoking, sort finances -   some of us even resolve to make a will. This year, from 16^th January-15^th April 2017, law firms Quality Solicitors Davisons, Thursfields Solicitors, Wallace Robinson & Morgan Solicitors, Woollastons Solicitors, PSL Probate Solicitors and Irwin Mitchell LLP will be helping you to keep your resolution by offering the service on behalf of the charity.  

Birmingham City Council is backing a campaign to get half a million people out and about cleaning up their local communities in March 2017 – building on a successful local day of action staged last November. The brand new Great British Spring Clean will roll out for the first time in 2017, with a view to it becoming an annual event helping to bring people together and clean up the country.

Award-winning author Sathnam Sanghera will be full of pride as his home-town hosts the Wolverhampton Original Literature Festival. The former Wolverhampton Grammar School student, who has gone on to become an acclaimed author and journalist, was thrilled when festival organisers contacted him about taking part in the event which takes place from today (Friday, January 27) to Sunday 29.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice is calling for Rugby fans and walkers from across the city to join their Rugby Ramble this February. The scenic 10 mile sponsored walk will take place on Saturday 11^th February, starting from the Hospice and finishing at Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club where participants can watch the England vs Wales 6 Nations Match whilst refuelling with a tasty pie and a pint.

Lack of clarity on support available prevents employers from recruiting and retaining disabled staff, says a new report from the national charity Action on Hearing Loss. A YouGov poll conducted for the charity looked into employers’ attitudes to hearing loss demonstrated a lack of confidence amongst businesses when hiring people with hearing loss. It also highlighted a perceived lack of information and advice on supporting people with disabilities in the workplace.

A kind-hearted Occupational Therapist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham has conquered America’s New York marathon to raise money for the hospital that saved the life of her patient – and now friend – Tunisia terror attack victim, Alison Heathcote. Isobel Deeley, a 27 year old from Sutton Coldfield has worked as an occupational therapist at QEHB for three years. During that time she has met thousands of inspiring patients who have made great progress in the face of adversity, and this was never more true than in the case of Alison Heathcote, one of many victims of the June 2015 Tunisia mass killing.

Schools and youth groups across the city have until 31 January 2017 to secure their very own Big Sleuth bear cub to decorate and see on display this summer. Blank sun bear cub sculptures, one metre tall and made of fibreglass, are available as part of the Learning Programme, The Big Sleuth’s creative education initiative for Birmingham’s young people.

The founder of Europe’s largest vegan campaign ‘Go Vegan World,’ Sandra Higgins, will be in Birmingham this Friday to give a talk on ‘making veganism easy.’  At the Purely Vegan Store, on Alcester Road South in Kings Heath she will be discussing the pros of a vegan lifestyle - despite veganism often being portrayed as daunting and extreme, she will put forward that a vegan lifestyle can in fact be easy, healthy and enjoyable.

With increased pressure on health and social care services expected throughout 2017, millions of older people plan to step in and help ease the burden by gifting their time. New research from older people’s charity, Royal Voluntary Service, reveals 4.7 million people aged 55 and over plan to volunteer in 2017. And the study shows they want more people to follow suit - nearly two fifths (37%) of 55s and over surveyed say the country needs more volunteers in the wake of health and social care service cutbacks.

School support workers who go that extra mile have been honoured by the Mayor of Wolverhampton. Mayor Councillor Barry Findlay hosted a reception reward the winners of Unison's search for the Stars in Our Schools, a celebration of the wonderful work Wolverhampton's school support workers do day in, day out. Support staff were nominated by schools across Wolverhampton, with the winners invited to the Mayor Parlour for this week's celebration.

A groundbreaking vegan poster campaign launched this month, with Go Vegan World ads now appearing on buses, taxis and billboards. Go Vegan World launched in the UK last June and their current campaign is targeting people for the New Year! The campaign directs viewers to research the issues for themselves by downloading the campaign’s Free Vegan Guide.

2^nd Generation of Barbadians & Friends (Birmingham) and the BCA (Birmingham Community Association) are jointly holding a Cancer Awareness Day, on Saturday, January 28, in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust and the Macmillan Cancer Trust on a day that will provide fun for all the family which includes a bouncy castle and face painting for the children, soca aerobics massages with food on sale.