NEWS: Celebrating forty years of changing places and lives
Groundwork brought together faces from past and present at a special event to celebrate 40 years of changing places and lives.
The celebration took place at the House of Lords where over 140 beneficiaries, partners and Groundwork staff from across the UK were invited to celebrate the milestone achievement and reflect on the future goals and aspirations for the charity.An innovative approach launched in 1982
Groundwork started in Merseyside in 1982 as a movement to take action on poverty and the environment by bringing the community together as part of finding the solution.
The event recognised that many of the issues facing communities now are still pertinent today.
Speakers at the event included Groundwork Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, Minister for the Environment, Trudy Harrison MP and Groundwork partners, Tesco, The Prince’s Trust and the Cadent Foundation. The final words were given by Mboja Nyang, a young Groundwork beneficiary and now employee, who set out her vision for the change she wants to see in society and how working with Groundwork can help with that goal.
One particular notable guest was Professor John Handley, Groundwork’s first Executive Director. Reflecting on Groundwork’s core charitable mission, he said:
If people are living in an environment that is degraded and disintegrating through a lack of investment, it’s very easy for that to spill over into their whole life view and to erode their aspirations and hopes. Conversely, what we found in Groundwork in the early days, in a very difficult period, was that actually if you do start getting things right in that way, you can make tremendous progress very rapidly and really begin to turn things around.
Professor John Handley, Groundwork’s first Executive Director
Read more about Groundwork’s achievements over the last forty years:
Read a reflection piece by Groundwork CEO, Graham Duxbury:
Notes to Editors
For more information please contact: media@groundwork.org.uk
About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities mobilising practical community action on poverty and the environment across the UK.
Groundwork is passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny, and no-one is held back by their background or circumstances. The charity helps people to gain confidence and skills, get into training and work, protect and improve green spaces, lead more active lives and overcome significant challenges such as poverty, isolation, low skills and poor health: www.groundwork.org.uk