Spotlight on Wednesbury 2000
Tell us what you do
We started in 1997 with the vision to support the local community and people of Wednesbury. We cover health, education, arts and supporting the elderly. We own The Old Post Office in the town centre and a whole spectrum of the community are able to use the building for meetings and running activities.
What is your proudest achievement?
It is probably helping new community groups and young people with businesses to get established. It is wonderful to see them flourish and then move onto pastures new. For example a young man started off here when setting up The Post Office Studio -a film and TV production company. He now has a thriving business and has moved onto bigger things.
Also successfully getting a grant of £185,000 to purchase our building and refurbishing it with a further £50,000 from lottery funding was great as we were able to update and improve the facilities for all of the community groups who use it.
What is your experience of support received from SCVO (if relevant)?
We have been a member of SCVO from the start and have had help with grants in the past. We attend the funding meetings which keep us informed with what sort of help is available and the AGM.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt about working with people in Sandwell?
The under 50’s area into their computers so we have learnt that we need to communicate with young people by getting online. Also working in conjunction with other organisations is really important as funding is a numbers game. The more people involved, the more likely you are to get the grant so creating those partnerships is really important.
What are your plans for the future and some of the challenges you face?
We want to continue to improve the building. It was built in the 19th century so needs money to be spent on it. Ideally we want to put a new roof on it. The biggest challenge is getting new memberships from younger people. We really want youngsters to get involved in order to keep Wednesbury 2000 going.
How can SCVO help to support your organisation in the future?
We want a closer relationship with SCVO as we will need help with getting funding for building costs as there just isn’t a lot available.
For anybody interested in joining Wednesbury 2000 please contact Mavis Hughes on 0121 5569516 or visit their website at www.wednesbury2000.org.uk