Tell Co-op how you would bring your local community together - chance to win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

Making a difference within our local community is something most of us would like do or are already a part of. To coincide with their push for more Member Pioneers Co-op would like to find out what you would do to bring your community together and how the Co-op might help.

Sarah MacKenzie from Co-op says: “At the Co-op, local communities are so important to us. In fact we're currently looking for Co-op Member Pioneers to help bring people together and make a real difference where they live. Member Pioneers are a network of individual members on the ground to make good things happen in communities across the UK. They do this by connecting and mobilising members, colleagues and local causes locally to do what matters most to them - arranging local meetings and events, encouraging volunteering and co-operation in their local community.

If anyone is interested in applying to be a Member Pioneer themselves, they can find out more here. We're always looking for ideas about events and initiatives the Co-op or our Member Pioneers could help with or organise and we'd love to hear what MNers think.”

So if you could do something to help bring your community together, and make it a better place to live and work, what would it be? Would you organise a big event? Set up a weekly coffee morning? Are you a keen fundraiser or a fan of a street party?

Whether you are already involved with your local community or just have some good ideas for things you’d like to do, share your thoughts below and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Standard insight T&Cs apply

I would try and put on small and friendly local gatherings and fun days etc

I'd like there to be local creative afternoons where children and adults can come together and enjoy art and craft activities, music, dance, and theatre. So children [and adults] can try out new things and expand their interests.

I would like to revive the local library

Sadly properties have been squeezed into every available spot where we live so there are no green patches of land nor were we able to get permission for things like street parties when it was the Jubilee year HOWEVER If we had decent width pavements, or even had actual pavements in some local streets, then I would think the idea of a few friendship benches dotted about like they have in schools would help
people to come out and sit and hopefully chat for a while therein helping the feeling of isolation to diminish a little.

I am a little at loss to think what I could do to add to our community, we already have a lot going on! It's more that I could do with signing up to help out other schemes already in place, but we have had the children from the nursery going to the retirement home for years, events on the common land aimed at a wide range of ages, there's schemes to take older people to the shops and church, there's a community group for keeping the open spaces clean and regular "tidy up" slots booked, there's mobile library staffed by volunteers and a group who arrange to visit older people, free craft events for kids in the holidays (run by volunteers), fun days for families, and no end of things going on.

Actually thinking about it, this is a great place to live!

I wish I was brave enough to organise a walking bus to the local school, Id be happy to take my turn taking them all to the school.
For younger children I've always thought that somewhere we can take them to play together would be good, somewhere safe they could just run around in and couldn't escape out of, so we could get together and not be worried they might disappear, or be hurt and need care.
Also I'd like a school uniform swap / hand me down arrangement.

I would love to have an undercover picnic area in our town on a playing field which has long picnic table and benches and grills for disposable bbq's all under a covering so you can get together with local friends and neighbours no matter what the weather, I saw them in America and thought they were a great idea, as lots of peple used them for Birthday parties, and just generl get togethers and they didnt require much maintenence just a couple of public bins and most people cleared up after themselves anyway

Our school run a community cafe one afternoon each month. The older children put leaflets through the doors in the catchment area inviting locals to come. They then serve cakes and tea/coffee and one of the younger classes provide a bit of entertainment and there is a chance to chat. Lots of parents and grandparents also attend and people can make a donation which goes to charity or school funds (there is a notice stating where the money is going on each occasion) if they wish.

Local boot sale/yard sale meet the community, do a clear out, fill the spaces in your house with all the other stuff you buy at other stalls - winner! How about donating some of the proceeds to a community fund and wear a name badge. There are always going to be people who love to chat at these things, who knows what might happen.

We have a lovely 'high' street in our area, wit chemist, library post office and variety of shops, but Nowhere to sit!

Would be great if there were a couple of benches in the 'square ' area so you could sit down to eat your chips.

Not even a bench at the bus stop.

Suppose could sit on wall outside supermarket, but road quite busy.
Anyway, I think it would be great for chatting to people.

Plus removing the road from middle of 'square' would be nice.

If the car parks belonging to the supermarkets were less restrictive (no return within 4 hours) we could get shot of the parking spaces which make the busy bit of pavement really narrow....

This is the council's job tho, innit, and they are rubbish at negotiating with supermarkets.

Not the co-op by the way. Our local co-op was demolished in favour of Asda recently :(

I'm chair of the Parent's Association at my daughters school.
We bring the school community together with fundraising events like discos, fairs and quiz nights.
Our first event this year is a sponsored Balloon race which the children always really enjoy.

I think some kind of local event that brings people together. I live on a fairly small estate (approx 100 houses) but I just don't know my neighbours, direct neighbours I saw hello to but others I never see/have not met. Years ago we had a street party (for Kate and William's wedding) and it was lovely as you could join in as and when you wished, for as long as you wanted to. However, we were involved in the planning and it was a real faff to organise everything although on the day so many turned up it was completely worth it.

local summer bbq for nearby residents in communal areas

Street party if we could depend on the weather being nice for the day

I'm involved with a local charity that promotes reducing food waste. They have pay as you feel cafes run in community centres and rescue food from supermarkets which are then used to cook meals in the cafes and the surplus is passed on to the public in return for a donation (of money or time). I would love to see more supermarkets and the Co-op having a formal policy about food waste and not just throwing it in the bin. More needs to be done on awareness of the amount of waste but also encouraging local stores to build relationships with these type of organisations so food that would be thrown out can be put to use. They are popping up all over the place.

We are lucky to have a wonderful local community and we have lots of gathering through out the year starting with the wonderful Party in the Park, thousands visit this wonderful event and you can eat the wonderful local cuisine and watch your Children dance or sing on the local stage. We also have Light up the Lane. So much effort goes into this and the timing of the Christmas switch on is just wonderful. We won Great British High Street a few years back and we are still proud to have the bunting swaying from the trees to let our visitors know!!

Our community does pull together being a fairly small village but I'd encourage people to use the local pub as a social spot but also as somewhere to discuss all the local issues.

i would like a park that is free from broken glass and litter so that the children can play. My local park is so dirty it is not used very much. it would be good to encourage all ages to litter pick and tidy up then have a football kick around and bbq after.I think if the local youths were involved maybe they would be less likely to trash it again. we have some community wardens so maybe they could help with this and get the whole neighbourhood involved. the Co op could provide the snacks and bbq food.

I would love to hold a street party where we could all sit and eat and drink and the kids could all paly together. We could have an annual street party day where everyone holds one on the same day. I don't know any of my neighbours as we are all too busy to make conversation!

Volunteer with a local charity.

A teddy bears picnic for the young and old

I'd like to organise some community wildlife events - e.g. clean up rubbish, bat walks, bird spotting, tree identification and so on. We live in an area with great wildlife and countryside, it'd be nice to involve everyone in it more.

I hate the idea of street parties and events as not everyone goes for things like this and it is a bit of an imposition for those that don't. I'd like to see a nice community green space area like a small park or walled garden specifically for the immediate locality, so you could go and chat with neighbours and let the children play but you could dip in and out as it suited you. (We'd have to knock down half the street to achieve this of course, as there is nowhere to actually put one.)

A community coffee shop would be a wonderful asset around here. Somewhere that mums, children and retired folks could go to meet and get an affordable bite to eat and socialise. There is one in my parents village in the west country, it is very well supported and really brings people together. Even if it was a pop up event at a local community centre or church hall, it would really benefit so many people, especially at times when pennies are tight.