Community Builders (ABCD)

Community Builders

ABCD

Working with the local community in the Clifton and Nowells area of East Leeds, through the engagement and motivation of the local people as ‘Community Connectors’ to bring about positive change in the area.

What is Community Builders (ABCD – Asset Based Community Development Projects) by Learning Partnerships?

ABCD starts from a place that prioritises and celebrates the strengths and assets communities have to draw from, rather than starting from a point of focusing on what is wrong in communities and needs fixing.

Our Community Builders have been spending time getting to know local people, looking for similar interests and passions, helping to connect people and looking for those people who are natural community connectors.

A community connector is someone who people are drawn to, who has a natural enthusiasm and can bring people together.

Our Community Builders have been spending time helping people understand the gifts they have to offer, “everyone has something to offer”, and helping people develop the knowledge and skills they want to share.

They have supported residents to train and start a yoga group, helped people run Christmas Crafts, Cooking and Baking projects during lockdown, Supported the youth groups to do local baking; Organise giftbags for terminally ill children, make boxes for refugees. Additionally, two women have been supported to start women’s groups and one volunteer ran a woman’s conference. Additionally, A local resident has also started a Cooking Club, where they cook for each other on a weekly basis. A Writers group and an Art group were also set up.

Our Community Builders also supported local residents to petition the council for play equipment for children with special needs. Several trips were organized for local residents to go on, including Malham Cove, and Whitby, Otley and the Thackray museum.

Some Parents were also supported to set up a group to support learners with special needs who were supported to go on a summer trip to Ponderosa zoo.

Most recently, local residents have been supported to host Art exhibitions, start an East Leeds newspaper, and start a young persons group to support one another. The connectors have also been supported to do First aid, Level 2 hygiene courses, mental health first aid, community building and safeguarding training.

Case Study

A local woman who had a passion for yoga asked if she could start an informal yoga group. It was quickly established that the woman was very skilled and good at yoga. In partnerships with active Leeds, she was supported to complete a yoga course at college. She now runs weekly sessions locally – Monday 12:30pm at the Nowell Mount Community Centre. Come and Join!