New additions to the CLASS staff team

Gemma – Fundraising and Communications

‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’

I’ve never asked someone for a job before, but when my son started school last year, I knew I needed to do something I felt really passionate about. I could see the impact Community Savers was having for both individuals and communities, and I knew it was something I wanted to be part of. I nervously approached CLASS for a job in the summer of 2023, luckily they said yes, and I have been in post a year now!

I first came across the Community Savers idea in 2017 when I was doing some fundraising consultancy with a charity in Wythenshawe. The Community Savers idea was just starting up and the charity that I co-founded in 2012 supported the initial application to the Charity Commission for CLASS to become a registered charity and support the Community Savers movement. I continued to do some small pieces of work with CLASS and Community Savers, mainly fundraising support over the years.

I’m now working 1 day a week for CLASS, mainly in a fundraising role and supporting external communications. Even though I have worked with CLASS and Community Savers over several years, I’m still learning so much about the model, how everything works and constantly trying to keep up with all of the amazing work the network does. As well as working at CLASS, I still work at the charity that initially introduced me to CLASS (Participate Projects in Bradford).

Time certainly flies when you’re having fun, and this year has shot by. It’s been amazing meeting lots of the leaders, partners, groups and funders connected with CLASS and Community Savers and i’m looking forward to building on these relationships further. There are some exciting plans in place and I’m grateful to play a small part in developing and delivering these over the coming months.

Anne – Project Coordinator (Meredith Matters)

I came to live in Hulme in 1969.  My roots are in dance, teaching and theatre adding community activities in 2009 quite by accident!.  My heart is in Hulme and the surrounding area, we have seen so many changes both good and bad throughout the years, I hope I can make some difference to its future however small. Having unique experience and ties to the area has made working with its people a pleasure. Hulme has a good heart; it beats its rhythm again and again in me.

I have worked in the community on a number of different projects over the past 15 years mostly through a group called On Top of the World Project. This started out as a a co-produced 3 year project with The Royal Exchange using the arts as a tool of engagement working in high rise blocks in Hulme and Gorton. Then myself, Tina Cribbin and my son Christopher took over the reins putting on social events and a drop in for the Over 50s in the Aquarius area of Hulme. Happily the project has gone from strength to strength bringing in the wider community serving and advocating weekly, we even carried on through lockdown by delivering sessions in the gardens of Hopton Court tower block. On Top is now exploring incorporation as a CIO.

On Top has formed a partnership with one of the Community Savers groups called Aquarius Community Savers and they now run the savings club out of the On Top drop in on a Wednesday at the Aquarius Community Centre. With the closing of so many bank and building society branches, this is a really important local resource – allowing people to save any amount however small in a familiar local venue – it all adds up. So many of our group love saving now. We have a great committee and ever growing resident interest and commitment. Meeting CLASS has been a blessing. We have together traversed red tape and the sometimes challenging landscape of funding and public provider partnerships. We have accessed training and invaluable guidance supporting us in becoming marvellous!

Most recently we have developed a new partnership with Turn2Us and this is how I have come to work for CLASS supporting tenants to develop a new stage of the Ageing Well work this time at Meredith Court tower block through a project called Meredith Matters. Turn2Us are a breath of fresh air, bringing a genuine commitment to co-production with the community and experience and knowhow in financial inclusion and resilience. Our project is called Meredith Matters because we matter. Its not OK to just survive. We will be listened to and effect positive change in our community.

I love working with our diverse and everchanging landscape and people. We do a lot of laughing and enjoy our friendships, the old fashioned ways of checking up and supporting each other have re-emerged. They never really went away.