Community News

A new strategy aimed at continuing the good work being done to tackle youth and gang violence in Wolverhampton has been unveiled. Over the last few years, the city's previous gangs strategy has helped greatly improve the lives of those communities formerly blighted by gangs, bringing about a fall in gun and knife crime in the process. It has also seen the development of a range of new activities designed to tackle problem gangs.

For 150 years Barnardo’s has been transforming children’s lives helping hundreds of thousands of children to grow up happy and healthy. The UK's leading children's charity, founded by Dr. Thomas Barnardo, is offering fantastic profile-raising and fundraising opportunities for charity and corporate partnerships ahead of the anniversary. Barnardo’s. Chief Executive, Javed Khan, said; "2016 is here at last and this promises to be an exciting year for all of us at Barnardo’s.

With Easter just around the corner, some of us may be considering giving an alternative gift to the usual chocolate eggs.  However, although a twist on the traditional can be a nice idea, ethical pet retailer Pets Corner is urging those who are looking to invest in a pet rabbit to think very carefully before making such a serious commitment.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s tastiest fun run is back. The Chocolate 5K gives chocolate lovers the opportunity to burn off the calories whilst indulging in a sweet chocolate treat or three! The unique fun run attracted 600 participants of all ages last year, raising over £18,500 of vital funds for the Selly Oak based Hospice. This year’s event takes place on Saturday 23rd April and starts at 11am from Rowheath Pavilion in Bournville, the original home of chocolate.

Images have been unveiled at MIPIM Cannes of what Wolverhampton’s new state-of-the-art railway station will look like. The artist’s impressions featured as part of the City of Wolverhampton Council’s presentation showcasing the city’s regeneration successes and future developments. Work is due to begin on the new railway station next year following the extension and refurbishment of the railway station multi-storey car park, which is expected to be completed by Christmas 2016.

Fifty-three countries will come together to celebrate Commonwealth Day 2016 today under the theme ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth’. Among the many activities and events taking place globally, a multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey will welcome thousands of guests from around the world, including the attendees of the Commonwealth Africa Summit 2016. Commonwealth Day is held on the second Monday in March every year.

The Mayor of Wolverhampton has an eye-catching new website designed to raise the profile of the role and its rich history. Wolverhampton has had an unbroken line of Mayors since G. B. Thorneycroft became the first person to hold the office in 1848. Being made Mayor is the highest honour the city council can bestow on an elected councillor. The Mayor is the first citizen and the Queen’s representative in the city. The current Mayor is Cllr Ian Brookfield.

The British Heart Foundation held its annual No Smoking Day on 9^th March, which aimed to help smokers give up their habit by taking the first step towards quitting. MedicAnimal, the UK’s leading online pet retailer, also called on pet owners to consider their animals’ health as further motivation in giving up their habit.

Handmade badges embroidered with statistics and metal bricks engraved with quotes. Craftivism combines craft and activism and Birmingham based arts organisation Craftspace have invited young people to spend a week creating their own craftivist campaigns about issues that are important to them.

Rhianna famously offered the chance to “stand under my umbrella, now that it’s raining more than ever,” well if you are sheltering under a brolly in the UK there is every chance it has been stolen.  New research from Churchill Insurance reveals that 11 per cent of people admit to having stolen an umbrella from a colleague, friend or stranger in the last year, with one-in-twenty admitting to stealing two or more!

When our pets are ill or in pain we naturally want to help them as quickly as possible. However, instead of immediately seeking professional help by way of a visit to the vets, an estimated 1.4 million cat and dog owners in the UK take matters into their own hands and actually give their pets potentially toxic medicines designed for humans.

Oldbury school Principal Gordon Phillips will be undertaking his tenth and final fundraising run in a bid to raise money for new playground equipment for the Meadows Sports College. Gordon, aged 63, will be racing in the Carterton 10km run on Sunday 10 April and hopes to raise £4,000 in total. All money raised will go straight to the school.

In Selly Oak, national deafblind charity, Sense, held a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the launch of construction of a new major centre for disabled people. The TouchBase Pears centre, which is due to launch in summer 2017, will provide vital services to help disabled people in the West Midlands lead more independent lives.

Dog owners across Birmingham are being encouraged to get their pets microchipped before a new change in the law comes into effect next month. As people prepare to bring their dogs to Crufts (10-13 March), Birmingham City Council is reminding owners that from 6 April all dogs must be microchipped and have their details registered on an authorised database.

Pupils at Whiteheath Education Centre are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space. In September, 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they will spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth in March 2016.

City of Wolverhampton Council is offering a special Fairtrade breakfast menu at its catering facility on the Civic Centre ground floor in support of Fairtrade Fortnight until 13 March 2016. Fairtrade Fortnight is the Fairtrade Foundation’s campaign to highlight the severe lack of food security for farmers around the world.