People and Places

I LOVE the energy of the people I work with, and those I have been connecting to over my time at UnLtd and in recent months (hence the tardiness in posting- although know-one seems to have noticed). I’d really like to share some of the amazing stories and people I have seen with you, starting off with my favourite city- Birmingham!

In case you don’t know it, Birmingham, recently dubbed by a FoxNews contributor Steve Emerson as a ‘Muslim City’ that ‘Non-Muslims just do not go’ is actually a multicultural city that embraces culture, heritage and difference with open arms and a warm heart. Of course, there are a few who would disagree but to give airtime to this would only deplete the unbounded energy you can get from this city and the vibrant people within it. No example personifies this more for me than the recent support of HUB Birmingham. A social entrepreneur @Immykaur and her amazing team ventured to start a co-working space with a HUGE difference. Creating opportunities for purposeful encounters, collaboration, networking and support for the people of Birmingham to make a difference. After receiving some support from @UnLtd they embarked on a @Kickstarter campaign and raised an amazing £65,095 from 586 backers. You can read more about it here and I for one, cannot wait to see the space open soon.

But wait, there’s more- here are just a few of the wonderful people I have met over the last few months.  

Jodi Ann Bickley- spreading happiness through letters. Jodi set up OneMillionLovelyLetters.com to help people through difficult times, one letter at a time. She responds with love, care and attention to anyone that needs a supportive word and a caring heart to respond. If only we all gave this much time to making a difference to others.

@Beatfreeks founder Anisa is another of Birmingham’s stars.  Beatfreeks is an award winning social enterprise started by Anisa, who has been making a difference to this city and young people within it since she was just 15. Beatfreeks deliver hard-hitting youth participation, working with young people to do what they love and Anisa is another driving force behind the groundswell of social action in the Midlands.

And a final nod has got to go to New Leaf Recovery CIC, started by Rosalind a year ago and going from strength to strength to support individuals in the city who have struggled with substance misuse. New Leaf are successfully supporting people through addiction to enable them to face the realities of life and rebuild what has been damaged. I met Rosalind a year ago for the first time and enjoyed hearing how much she and the enterprise have developed and her plans to expand across the city to help more people ready for change.

And it’s not just Birmingham. I am lucky enough to meet, read and support inspiring individuals making a difference in villages, towns and cities across the Midlands as I know many others are across the UK.

There are many, all too familiar issues facing communities in the UK; poverty in all its forms (food, fuel, finance) homelessness, criminality and too many short term ‘solutions’ to long term issues. We need to widen our lenses, be more ambitious, avoid the easy options and say enough. It’s easy to be overwhelmed with the task ahead but whatever you want to change, the time to do it is today, because tomorrow never comes.