It’s been a long time since the phrase ‘Big Society’ has been routinely used, but the activity of big society organisations has been carrying on unabated. The much less glamorous term for these organisations is ‘third sector’, but we all know them as volunteer organisations and charities. And of course, the big society is not a new phenomenon, it has been around for hundreds of years.
These organisations are important for any number of reasons – they provide an important service in their own right – but they also form an identity and outcome that the community gathers around and supports. For me, Christmas hasn’t started until we have the spectacle of 200 runners chasing around Kidderminster dressed as Santa at the Kemp Hospice Santa Fun Run in December. Just the act of fundraising brings communities together.
It is because of this that I am so pleased when the spirit of the Big Society continues with new organisations. It was a real honour for me to have been asked to open the new training and learning centre a couple of weeks ago in Kidderminster’s Marlpool Lane, and the story of how this organisation came into being is interesting and inspiring.
In 1989, a successful local businessman turned his efforts from commercial activities to altruism. He recognised that there was little provision for independent living arrangements for people with learning disabilities. He invested his own money into a number of houses that provide independent, yet overseen, living for those who want independence yet may not be able to achieve entirely unsupported. This, Orbital 4, has been a successful organisation and has brought together many people including parents. It is those parents and service users who wanted to create something new and so Blueprint Training and Enterprise was created.
Using the back garden of Orbital 4’s Marlpol Lane property, they have together raised £20,000 and created a truly magical oasis of creativity. They have built and kitted out a workshop that would be the envy of any serious manufacturer with woodworking tools, sewing equipment metalworking equipment and space for a number of creative activities. Outside is a forest workshop and cooking area, providing a canopied area where they can enjoy each other’s company.
All this was created by service users and parents who saw a worthwhile opportunity and set about creating it. It really is inspirational.