Saturday marked the start of a weekend of neighbourhood get-togethers with a family fun day at Summerhill Community Centre. The day was a fitting start to National Volunteers Week and saw committee members pulling together to put on a fantastic party. 
Volunteers have spent the last few months planning a day that would help them welcome new people through their doors, to see their lovely centre in full swing! The day was paid for through a lottery Awards for All grant and a generous donation from the Eden Project’s Big Lunch.
When I arrived, the centre car park was already a hive of activity. I was greeted by a police officer from the Black Country Living Museum and a splash of colour from a traditional sweet shop stall. The bouncy castle was taking a battering and centre Chairman Gerry was entertaining youngsters dressed as Bob the Builder!
Walking through the door I was hit with a blaze of red white and blue. Hundreds of flags from the Willofields bunting workshop had been carefully strung together with union jacks, royal decorations and a party table fit for a queen.
The back room was equally beautifully decorated and was busy with families drinking tea while a face painter & balloon modeller entertained the kids. Volunteer photographers Beatrice, Eileen & Phil captured the fun and have produced a splendid gallery of images as a lasting record of the day, some of which will be printed in a special feature in the Coseley Grapevine.
An afternoon highlight for the younger visitors was the children’s Big Lunch! An indoor street party with jubilee snacks, treats and plenty of jelly and ice-cream, which transported me back to a Silver Jubilee street party I myself enjoyed as an excited 5 year old. It made me smile in the knowledge that Summerhill was making lasting memories for a new generation of children who will I’m sure remember the great sense of community from the day for many years to come.
The afternoon also received strong support from the new Mayor and Mayoress of Dudley, Cllr Melvyn & Michelle Mottram. They skipped lunch at an earlier engagement so that they could spend as long as possible kick-starting celebrations in their home town of Coseley. During his visit Mayor Mottram signed ‘Valued Volunteer’ certificates for committee members and added his name to ‘The Dudley Bunting’ which will go on display at celebrations all across the borough in the coming days and weeks.
With so many local people milling around the centre (an estimated 150!), it proved to be a perfect opportunity to have conversations about Big Local. We asked visitors if they knew about the Coseley million and how they would like to spend it! Those questioned were quick to say that children and young people were their priority and gave suggestions ranging from after school clubs, to activities that would bridge the gap between younger and older residents. When asked what they loved about East Coseley everyone without exception said, ‘the people’. One resident told me,
“I wasn’t born here but when I attend events like this it makes me proud to look around and think, ‘these are my neighbours, this is my community!”.
Such strong sentiment made me feel proud to be working with local volunteers who are giving a tremendous amount of time and energy to get their neighbours involved.
…And Summerhill was just the start of it! Another Big Lunch took place at Rainbow Community Centre yesterday which I’m sure will have been equally enjoyable and today will see a further two events at Willowfields and Ebenezer Baptist Church who have teamed up with the New Inns Public House.
Thanks to support from the Big Lunch and energy from local people who have applied for Big Local grants, celebrations will continue long into July!