Spotlight on Changemakers in Newcastle Reflects New Ideas for a Better Community 

Community showcase gives attention to a small group of enterprising people in and around Newcastle. 

A Community Project Showcase was recently held by Junction Point CIC in partnership with Newcastle City Council at Riverside Community Health Project, Benwell.

The event celebrated the journeys of twenty local community members who developed a unique response to a local issue using social enterprise as their inspiration. 

With 13 projects successfully piloted, Lizzy Hodcroft (Junction Point CIC Enterprise Development Director) was “extremely proud and humbled” to have seen participants grow in their confidence and to see their ideas become so successful.  

The project was created to support residents in their local area to bring their social action ideas to life in the form of a pilot with a small amount of seed funding to help them overcome the massive hurdle of having capital. Lizzy told us:

“We started the project by mapping out local communities and what kind of services were already around. The group was quick to identify where gaps were apparent but also where services could potentially do more with their help. Once ideas were narrowed down, my job was to ensure that all our participants were empowered with the information and support to validate their ideas and  to pull together a small-scale version of their big ideas to trial.”

Since piloting the projects in August and September, 4 of the 13 projects have gone on to registered as CIC’s. Many of the participants have also explored their next steps, including access to the North of Tyne Combined Authorities Community Crowd Funding Platform, Space Hive.

 

The event provided the opportunity to showcase pilot projects and offer local community organisations a chance to engage with these new initiatives.

Three of the participants shared their experience of the programme, and the products they had created: 

Simona, a ‘plant whisperer’ shared how her interest in herbalism and foraging led her to create a project with the hopes to ‘reconcile the relationship between human and nature’.

Simona’s indoor and outdoor creative and educational activities create a way for people to connect with their environment.  

“I feel we look too much to the global, we forget what we have now”, Simona shared as she explained how difficult it can be for some people to access the forest and wilderness.
Many people do not have access to a vehicle or ways to travel, so she praised the beauty of the North East with its many city-centre green spaces.  

She has hopes of shifting her focus from a sole trader to a community interest company, with the intention of supporting a larger community.  

Graham Donaldson from Fit Mind gave an overview of his Boxing Warriors programme which has been created to support kids aged 7-16.
Graham is an ex-veteran, a survivor of Complex PTSD, who has struggled with his own mental health challenges.

Boxing taught him discipline, community, and helped to express his feelings and aggression in a healthy way. 

The pilot he ran with the help of the project support helped him to get kids off the street, and channel their aggression into physical activity. 

“Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story”, Graham shared as he told how knife crime is a major concern in his neighbourhood, and how his venture would give kids something to do instead.

Many young people have struggled during the pandemic, especially with confidence and social skills. Kids who completed his six-week free bootcamp were able to achieve a certificate to recognise their efforts and provide a sense of achievement. 

When asked what Graham plans next, or what help he might need he shared that mostly, he’d appreciate any help to raise awareness of the work he’s doing to help kids.  

Last to share their story was Olivia from Sari Sari Handmade.
Olivia is no stranger to Junction Point, having participated in various programs run before such as ‘Passion to Paycheck’ and ‘Idea to Ignition’.
Working with Junction Point has helped her to make friends and meet new contacts who have gifted her space to work.
Olivia shared how she has struggled with her mental health following a bipolar diagnosis and other life challenges. Olivia developed her own tools to help her self-soothe and regulate as emotional first aid through arts and crafts. Through the support of the Riverside Community Hubs Project, Olivia has been able to work with over 144 participants between June – October 2022.

Some of these projects included arts and crafts activities such as ‘Mindful Monster’, painting workshops, meditation classes, cushion making, and laughing yoga.  

The overall feedback from all her emotional first aid participants was a sense of feeling uplifted and renewed self-confidence.
This validation has helped Olivia to have more belief in herself, and she now hopes to gain funding, register as an official organisation and gain permanent premises.

“We are so proud of all the participants of this project and cannot wait to see what comes next” Lizzy Hodcroft.

 

Junction Point believes that with the right support, individuals and organisations can absolutely change the world. 

 

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