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We Are Bloxwich published their Delivery Report!7 months ago
Delivered 22 February 2023
Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.
By One Love Community Music and Arts CIC
To Capture the stories of the people of Bloxwich. What Life was like in the 1940's and during the War Life as a young person growing up and witnessing the development of Bloxwich and it's growth.
Bloxwich is an old Market town steeped in History, first mentioned in the Domesday book, in 1086 known as Blocs Village (spelt Blocheswic) before the Norman Conquest of 1066. It was an Anglo-Saxon town in the Kingdom of Mercia, when a Mercian family of Bloc settled there. Over the years Bloxwich developed into a Coal mining Town and cottage industries sprung up, ranging from iron mongers and leather making industry and much more. Bloxwich like its near neighbour flourished from a population of 600 to 1700 in rapid time, leading to houses been built and settlements which eventually created the surrounding estates. The "We are Bloxwich project" aims to capture the stories of Growing up in Bloxwich, during the 1940's its development into a larger town. The life styles and employment of its people and significant landmarks which helped to shape its history. We will video and photograph real stories whilst creating a safe place to address isolation and loneliness in modern times.
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
The project will capture the stories of an aging population whose stories have not been recorded. It will put facts to key landmarks that are visible in Bloxwich but very few know the stories behind them. It will provide historical heritage and facts to a timeline that would otherwise be lost. It will build community engagement within Bloxwich, which currently appears to lack a focal point for community development. Develop a local site which will provide a hub for community engagement. Local people will share their stories and this will empower others to engage in local activities providing a vehicle for long term sustainability, woven into the fabric of a local Coffeeshop, which provides community engagement in an informal manner to combat, depression, social isolation and loneliness. The project will link into Walsall's Historical archives, its Heritage strategy and its wider agenda of Social prescribing across the NHS, whilst providing a voice for a wider ethnic and community.
Steps to get it done:
The project will have many aspects which crosses over many different local agenda's. Its potential recruitment of young people to act as interviewers, will provide an inter generational aspect to the project, whilst also supporting young people into gaining key transferable skills and wider links to an older community. The project will provide a platform for a project which will engage many diverse cultures whose stories surrounding Bloxwich and its development as a major town would otherwise be lost. Its historical significance since its notorious mention in the doomsday book has many tales which need to be captured in order to understand its place within the history archives of Walsall and the Black Country. The people of Bloxwich have demonstrated in early research the desire to place on record their lives and their experience of growing up during the War, but also in watching a town develop from a market town into a place of expansion and wider impact, creatively and politically.
Journey
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Brilliant news, thanks everyone!
The HEAL Festival Shrewsbury was the start of something very special - the combination of a dream and determination, but without the support of the Volunteers like, Craig, Lee Beckett Artist /Magician, Karen Simkiss, Michelle, Vanessa big Dave etc things could have looked a little less than fantastic. -So again thanks and to the 3 Musketeers all for one!!
3 Years ago we decided to hold a festival in the lush green grounds of Shrewsbury Showground, a dream that despite COVID 19, we did not give up on. As the dream developed into reality - we saw the need to add Well being to the event - with Yoga, Pilates Mindfulness, mediation and lots more alternative remedies to the bill keeping our agenda of mental heath loneliness and social isolation been a massive factor. 2000 people turned up and made it a truly successful Weekend.. Kicking off General Levy on Friday night 1st of July, and Saturday a mixed genre from up and coming acts to the Likes of Dawn Penn, Shaun Ryders Black Grape, Chris Helme, Aisha - Queen of Dub reggae, KClass and lots more - for more info go to www.healfestival.co.uk or facebook/healfestivalshrewsbury Anyway apart from been extremely exhausted at the end it was a fantastic weekend to be REPEATED next year (mark the date) but even better we raised another £650.00 pounds to the cause so well worth it in the end. I will post some more photos on our Facebook page - NOT SURE WHY IT KEEPS PUTTING THE PHOTOS ON UPSIDE DOWN? - they start off the right way round...Any way big shout out to everyone who helped put this together to All of the Volunteers, partners and the love, patience and commitment it took to make it happen THANK YOU X.
The Mayoress the Right Honourable Sandra Samuels and Husband Consort Carl Samuels dropped into open the Windrush Experience fundraising event for One Love Community Music and Arts and ACCI Wolverhampton on Saturday the 25th the event was a fantastic success with a complete sell out, for the Musical, Comedy, Dinner and dance event - Thank you everyone for all the hard work Men's Group in particular and Viv Allen for organising the entertainment.
How will the money be spent?Total £15,931
Costs Breakdown
This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.
Total £15,931
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VolunteerOne Love Community Music and Arts are a Community Interest Company, which basically means we are not for profit. We set up in 2017 as a response to recognsing that many people struggle with loneliness and social isolation due to many factors in the community.
We recognised that depression and in some cases anxiety often led to poor mental health and feelings of low self worth. Equally we saw that many people turned to depression tablets, Doctors, and in some cases self harming as a means to helping them cope with every day life. Whilst exploring ways to address these issues we decided that one of the most obvious things was the Nothing to do, nowhere to go no one to talk too scenario. So we thought, why not open a Coffee shop with a seperate Creative Art activities, that was in 2018, supported by the National Lottery Community Fund we carried on through the Pandemic reachig more and more people and learning more and more about the gaps in the system, the struggles of everyday individuals and the stresses and strains that came with lockdown, but factors around, divorce and family break ups, relationship break ups, especially in later years 40 and 50 plus. We learned how to help, how to care and how to give hugs and a smile when words failed. But more importantly we learned how effective the Creative Arts can be in tackling mental health issues, helping people to be distracted away from depression and how we can use the Arts to rengage with society, make new friends and rebuild self worth.
Moving to Bloxwich we have gone from strength to strength ever since. In Bloxwich we have not just found a new home, but equally a community rich with diverse tales and stories of life in Bloxwich since the Wars, but also about the many changes, population increases and the cultural mix that has steadily taken place over the past few years. Our aim is to capture the stories of the changing Bloxwich, but also the resilence and character that exists not just now but over many many years.
We aim to use the Creative Arts again to capture on Video these tales and digitalise them for Heritage and also preserve them to audio history in Walsall archives. We want to develop and replicate some of the skills that may get lost in time of weaving and crafts, knitting and lock or Dart making. Our Campaign will provide a legacy which will link Blocheswic first mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086 to a modern day Bloxwich 2022 - We Are Bloxwich
Project Owner: One Love Community Music and Arts CIC The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
