About Us | Grass Roots of Wigan

About us...

Routes to community growth through solidarity

Grass Roots of Wigan is a community-led network for people who live and breathe community life.

An open network where we have the space to bounce ideas around, offer and receive mutual support, learn together and from each other and stand together in solidarity.

We want to see:

New growth in every community
People believing that it is possible to make changes and grow community life
People feeling that their views matter and are important and can contribute to community life
People feeling inspired by seeing what they and others can and are doing
More people getting involved in all communities and taking ownership
Lots of different people finding ways to work together for the common good
Communities collaborating and working together in solidarity
A reduction in red tape that can get in the way of community growth

If this happens then we might see:

Communities becoming more connected, stronger, healthier and wealthier.

We do this by:

Monthly network gatherings to exchange ideas and learning
Annual festival
Securing monies and redistributing to enable grass root communities to grow collectively and in solidarity
Hosting a platform that supports communities to make collective decisions online and onland.

Who can we help?

Grass Roots of Wigan is predominately for the communities of Wigan. Neighbouring friends are welcome to join for mutual support.

As a decentralised network we work collaboratively and openly. The network is independent and non-partisan.

These aims were agreed by the founding members on the 21st July 2023.

Who we are...

Angela Fell

Co-founder

Angela is a mum and a besotted gran to Freddie. She has deep roots in Wigan, at least since the 1600s, and, maybe even before that – that’s as far as she’s got with her family tree.

She’s spent most of her life working in other people's communities and saw the pandemic as an opportunity to come home and cultivate community on her own doorstep.

Angela is a founding member of Springfield, Beech Hill & Gidlow CommUnity and a founding Director of Northern Heart And Soul CiC.

She believes in the power of grass root action and is not a fan of unnecessary bureaucracy and formal committees. With a little alongside support; easy to access resources and a strong network she believes grassroot communities can achieve amazing things together.

As Margaret Mead says, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Gill Wright

Co-founder

Gill Wright grew up in Beech Hill, she is a mum to three boys who enjoys netball in her spare time.

Having worked in public services for most of her career in 2020 she took a leap of faith into community, she is a founding member of Springfield Beech Hill & Gidlow Community mutual aid group and a co-director or Northern Heart And Soul CIC.

MARIE-CLARE KENYON

Co-founder

Clare is a mum to two grown up sons and is a proud Wiganer, born and bred, happily growing up in Higher Ince. She had a very successful career working in education, mainly in Wigan schools.

Clare has always been community minded and strongly believes that everyone in a community should benefit from a sense of belonging, support, friendship and trust.

Clare left teaching 10 years ago and is now heavily involved in community work on a voluntary level.

She has a passion for local, social history and helps to run Wigan Local History and Heritage Society, building its membership from a small group to over 120 subscribed members.

In 2018 she led a campaign to save the Cherries Community Garden from being ripped up and becoming a supermarket. It is now an asset of community value and recently won the highest award of excellence from the In Your Neighbourhood RHS standards.

Clare also helped to establish Friends Of Haigh Hall Heritage And Open Access For All, and successfully campaigned for a public right of way within the grounds of Haigh Hall. She is now part of the Haigh Hall Heritage Matters admin team working with Wigan Council to represent the community in the future development of the Hall and grounds.

Clare is also a Haigh Parish Councillor and is interested in developing project led participatory funding with communities in Haigh.

VICKY GALLIGAN

Co-founder

Vicky is a local mum, with a background in journalism and teaching. She is also a Wigan Borough councillor and prior to this volunteered with several community groups in her area of Shevington – from the local fete committee to a community pantry.

She founded Beltin' Marketing Wigan in 2020 to help local small businesses with digital and print marketing.

Vicky has worked on the GRoW website and would love feedback on how it works for you – just submit via our contact page!

FAQs about GRoW

Hello!

Welcome to GRoW. We hope to answer your questions here and will add to this section as we get more enquiries.

If your question is not answered here, please get in touch us via the Contact page.

Why should I become a member?
If you sign up as a member, you can engage with us and the wider community by submitting your ideas on this website. You can also stay in touch with GRoW's news as we will send out regular updates via email.
How do I become a member?
Head to the Sign Up/Log In section Alternatively, head to the Ideas page and click on Submit My Idea. You will then be asked to register/log in. You can do this with an email address, Gmail or Facebook account. Emails will be sent to the address you register with, or the address linked to your Facebook/Gmail account if you register this way.
Do I need to join as an individual or a group?
We would encourage people to sign up as individuals but state in your idea what your organisation is (if you belong to one). We invite ideas from individuals as well as groups, clubs, CICs etc. If you register as an individual then we will keep in touch with you via the email address you sign up with.
How do I get started with my idea?
Click on the Ideas tab and register/log in as a member, then submit your idea. It's as simple as that! Don't worry if you haven't worked out the finer details of how to deliver your idea – we can help with that.
How can I access funding?
After you have submitted your idea, if you get some backing from your local community and GRoW decides to support your idea, we will arrange a meeting/conversation with you. We can help you to apply for our funding via a simple, quick process. We can also signpost you to other people/organisations that can help.
How can I get more people involved?
Start by submitting your idea. We can help you by sharing it on our social media platforms and via our email newsletters. Talk to your community – knocking on doors, dropping off some leaflets or talking to an existing organisation are all great ways to recruit volunteers. Visitors to our site who see your idea can comment and pledge their support too, so it's a good idea to keep checking back to see who has commented on your idea.
When is your next event?
Check our Home Page for upcoming events, and also check your email inbox for a regular newsletter. We will also share events via our social media pages on Facebook (page and group), LinkedIn and Instagram.
How do I stay in touch with GRoW?
Register as a member so we have your email address, or stay in touch via our socials. You can also get in touch with your queries via the Contact page.
I have more questions!
Please get in touch via the Contact page.