Community Matter: The power of the ripple effect in our community

A lovely colleague recently wrote an article about ‘The Ripple Effect’ in communities.

I can truly say this is very much prevalent in Brixham.

There is not one person I speak to that doesn’t play a part in the ripple effect in Brixham. I can stop and chat to one person who then goes on to chat about someone else and what great work they are doing, and then on to someone or somewhere else who is also doing great work and do I know about it. The ripple effect is a very special thing and is a huge part of what makes the Brixham community and all other communities in Torbay thrive.

Take, for instance, recently I was chatting with Annette at the Motor Active Exercise Centre on Briseham Road. She wanted to run a games social afternoon for her members, and did I know of a venue to run it in? So, I suggested we get together and run it as a fundraiser for Men’s Shed to try and raise them some much-needed funds.

She was totally on board with this. Then I said, Let’s ask The Trawler on North Boundary Road if they can help us out by offering us a room to hold it in, which they did.

Then I was chatting to Sarah at Brixham Library about it and saying what a lovely thing that Annette and her members are doing for Men’s Shed, and she said, Oh, would you like to borrow some games from us for it that have been sent to us to use in the community? I said, Yes, of course, this would be great; thanks so much, and then we held the games afternoon and raised £80 for Men’s Shed, all off the back of Annette just mentioning she was wanting to do something nice for her members and did I know anywhere they could go.

A fantastic ripple effect and collaboration all round. Gary and Peter from Men’s Shed even took time out of their day to come and thank everyone for their kind generosity and chatted to everyone about what they do up at Men’s Shed, so it was a great way of showcasing what they do there to people who did not know.

On the back of this came another fundraising event, but this time for ‘The Music Factory CIC’, raising £40 for them. And then on the back of this came a new venue for this new CIC, just from chatting to different people. Their music workshops were now to be held at A Kick up the Arts Gallery on Bolton Street, thanks to Mark and Sarah Bell for accommodating this fantastic Community Asset Group. So please, do keep communicating with everyone around you – the power of talking is real!

And on this note – there are two really important things to mention – firstly, we have our Friendly Benches map being published very soon on our website, www.torbaycommunities.com, so please do get in touch if you know of a bench that could proudly display one of our lovely Friendly Bench plaques. I will then happily go and place one on and make sure it takes pride of place on the map. These benches are perfect for people to sit on and know that others may join them for a chat.

Also, please keep Tuesday, 30 September, free for the Baton of Hope Torbay event. This event is going to be monumental in making sure that suicide is not looked on as a taboo subject. People should be able to talk freely and openly if they are struggling in life and have people around them to listen.

Please follow the Facebook Pages ‘Baton of Hope UK’ and ‘Baton of Hope Torbay’ for updates on the event (or contact your local community builder for updates if you are not on FB), where a baton is going to be passed through Torquay, Paignton and Brixham and back over to Torquay, between over 100 selected baton bearers. We are looking for 100 volunteers for various roles for the event, and we would love to see as many people as possible out on the day supporting and encouraging the baton bearers along their route. This is going to be a very special day for Torbay.

Finally, a massive thank you goes to Brixham Future CIC for their huge efforts in putting on some incredible free and paid-for events in the community for VE Day. It was a huge success!

Like and follow my Facebook page ‘Helen Ambler, Community Builder for Brixham’ to keep up to date with what’s happening. Email me on:helenambler@torbaycdt.org.uk to receive my what’s on guide or call me on 07469660873 for a chat.