Wembley community cohesion champions win support

A project to boost community cohesion across Wembley and the surrounding areas has won building materials from us to revamp its new base.

The Big Green Hub CIC has secured £1,000 to spend at their nearest store through our latest Community Heroes scheme.

The group focuses on reducing social isolation, improving health and providing educational opportunities through a range of engaging activities for local residents.

Its new premises in King Edward VII Park will allow The Big Green Hub CIC to extend its reach and support vulnerable residents in the surrounding boroughs, including Barnet, Camden, Harrow and Westminster.

Joanne Watson, of the group, said: “We were overwhelmed to receive this support from Selco. Our King Edward VII Park hub is fantastic but it does require some cosmetic improvements to make it a nice environment for our service users and these materials will go a long way.

“Our goal is to improve cohesion in the area and we do this with a series of fun activities, including coffee mornings, salsa dancing, guided wellbeing walks and a popular book club. All of our volunteers work hard to create a movement that makes a difference to people’s lives. To receive Selco’s backing to achieve our ambitions is a real boost.”

We recently launched our bigger-than-ever Community Heroes campaign for a fifth consecutive year. Keen to do even more to help good causes across the UK, we have upped the ante by increasing the total prize fund to an eye-catching £57,500.

Over the course of eight months, 40 organisations will scoop £1,000 to spend at their local store. There will also be an overall top prize of £10,000 in cash, and second and third place runners-up will win £5,000 and £2,500 respectively.

Any group that supports the local community can apply online, including community centres, sports clubs, schools and uniformed organisations. Nominations are open until September.

Simon Humpage, Head of Multi-Channel Marketing at Selco, said: “Selecting our first five Community Heroes winners was a monumental task for our judging team but The Big Green Hub CIC stood out due to its valuable work in and around Wembley.

“Our award-winning Community Heroes programme has been a massive success over the last four years – and we’re delighted that it is back in this exciting new format.

“We have a huge prize pot up for grabs and we look forward to hearing from more great causes.”