Local groups in Fazeley going strong

One of the most satisfying things I do is working with local groups across my County patch. And, more satisfying still, is seeing the number of community organisations and activities in the Fazeley and Mile Oak area increase so much over the past three years.

More and more people in that area are becoming involved with local activities and there is a kind of greater sense of confidence developing in the community. It’s difficult to put your finger on it… there are still issues to tackle… but the recent survey I commissioned added to my sense that things are pretty good on the whole.

Yes, there are still problems to tackle in parts of the area but over three quarters of those who filled in the questionnaire in Fazeley and Mile Oak feel they are ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ satisfied with things overall. That’s a big improvement on the last similar survey I undertook three years ago when that figure was under half. With nearly a third of residents completing the questionnaire it’s also ’statistically valid’… I’m told by professionals who advise me.

And that brings me back to the title of this post. It’s difficult to know preciselyhow many community organisations and initiatives are operating in Fazeley and Mile Oak and that fact in itself is positive because there are now so many. Some work’s been done on bringing information on all those groups together in one place and there there appears there are more than fifty.

But, whilst I can often help with securing funding and getting things done, it’s volunteers who are the lifeblood to all these different groups. And the number of people I meet who are incredibly committed to being volunteers in one way or another is amazing.

The difficulty is that the more successful all these local activities are the more people are needed to keep them going. I recently visited the Silver Surfers computer club in Mile Oak and that’s a fine example of an initiative which helps the over 60s use the Internet to socialise with friend and family as well as learning more and using online services. Their numbers are swelling and all is going well… but they too need more volunteers who are ‘fairly’ computer literate to help out with the IT ’coaching’.

It’s the Fazeley and District Initiative (FDI) which acts as a conduit to try and pull all these different activities into a single place so it’s easier for local people to know just what is going on. And for the first time, this year, I’ve devolved a healthy chunk of my County Members’ Funding Scheme money to funds which have been raised by the FDI through various events. Together it’s being used to fund projects and initiatives in the Fazeley, Mile Oak, Bonehill and Drayton Bassett area and it’s local people who are part of the FDI who decide who get’s what and how much. The first ten or so groups received their cheques this week.  

But, as I mentioned earlier, it’s people who will give a bit of their time to get involved which are really needed and the area’s excellent website, www.fazeley.info, provides loads of information and contact details for the FDI and many of the local groups including how to help out if you wish to. If you know people who don’t have access to a computer the best contact is Toni Poyser of the Fazeley and District Initiative on 01827 287469.

Click here to comment on this post