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This guest blog was sent to us by Chris Jacobsen, the Communications Manager at Hull 2020 Champions. Hull 2020 helps residents turn ideas for their community into a reality. Using their ‘Community Kick-starter’ programme the project help locals identify what they need to make a positive difference in the area and then bring together volunteers, donations and equipment to make it happen.

Poet Philip Larkin described Hull as “a city that is in the world yet sufficiently on the edge of it to have a different resonance.”

Here in Hull we’re proud of our individuality and regardless of what might be written by journalists (who’ve probably never visited but consider themselves qualified to criticise) Hull is a place like no other.

However, residents complaining that they’d like to do something to improve life where they live but lack the resources and know-how is as familiar to us as it is to thousands of other communities across the country.

So we decided to do something about it. Funded by NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) we started the Hull 2020 Champions. You can read a full mission statement on our website – but, in short, the premise is to network locals who can help each other through charitable donations whether that be time, assets, expertise or something else.

To put in other words: “We help people who want to improve life in their community get started. Then we gather all of the things needed to make it work.”

So far the response has been fantastic. Without spending a penny we’ve helped feed the needy, promoted healthy living to women, increased the understanding of disability, worked with residents to plant a street full of lavender and much more.

Since the project was launched, people have been coming forward in droves to help each other achieve their goals.

It’s great to be able to help people who have such a selfless and worthy cause and it’s affirming to see so many people motivated purely by good will. We also aim to deliver a service beyond Hull by providing blogging tutorials based on our experience of running the Hull 2020 blog.

If you would like to help any of our projects, you can find out about them on our website. You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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