I’ve just spent a wonderful morning with two women who are both directors of Witton Lodge Community Association. Linda Hines has been involved for 15 years while Michelle Ashmore got stuck in just two or three years ago.
The Association has been working really closely with Birmingham City Council and other partners to drive through a huge regeneration project for Perry Common in the north of the city. It began with the bombshell that hundreds of homes were so structurally unsound they would have to be demolished.
The association is really central to its success for two reasons. First the 14 unpaid (and mostly resident) directors have a common sense idea of how to help the community thrive. Secondly the council was unable to raise the money for rebuilding on its own. The finance was only possible because of the association. Their hard won expertise is now being shared through the governments Guide Neighbourhoods programme (along with Balsall Heath and Castle Vale)
If you scroll down you can listen to their lively (and sometimes tearful) conversation and find out why both directors are convinced that much of their power derives from them being unpaid. So much so that wouldn’t want it any other way. Oh and please leave any comments here on the blog.
Erdington Community Network
Birmingham Community Empowerment Network
[...] He cites the Seti project (using pc downtime to search for ET), Wikipedia (the online collaborative encyclopaedia) and Linux, the open source software built by volunteers. He also says that the efforts of millions of amateurs can threaten those of the professionals. Wal Mart’s biggest competitor – he argues – are the legions who sell on eBay. Linux is a threat to Microsoft’s market share: These new non-organisations pose a huge challenge to the established organisational order and the professions and managers who design, control and lead them. They embody a new ethic of collaborative, shared effort, often not motivated by money. Recently I met two women who run the Witton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common. It’s a resident run business which has been driving the communal and physical regeneration of this Birmingham neighbourhood. “Being unpaid makes us powerful”, they told me. Why? [...]
[...] He cites the Seti project (using pc downtime to search for ET), Wikipedia (the online collaborative encyclopaedia) and Linux, the open source software built by volunteers. He also says that the efforts of millions of amateurs can threaten those of the professionals. Wal Mart’s biggest competitor – he argues – are the legions who sell on eBay. Linux is a threat to Microsoft’s market share: These new non-organisations pose a huge challenge to the established organisational order and the professions and managers who design, control and lead them. They embody a new ethic of collaborative, shared effort, often not motivated by money. Recently I met two women who run the Witton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common. It’s a resident run business which has been driving the communal and physical regeneration of this Birmingham neighbourhood. “Being unpaid makes us powerful”, they told me. Why? [...]
[...] The residents have also transformed many of their communal areas. Chris is standing in front of Anderton Gardens, a new garden named after a police sergeant who worked with them. (created with help from Groundwork Birmingham) The pragmatic approach of Chris and others in the Birmingham South West residents group reminds me of so many others we’ve spoken to on the Grassroots Channel, especially the people of Perry Common and Masood Yasin in Washwood Heath. [...]
[...] The residents have also transformed many of their communal areas. Chris is standing in front of Anderton Gardens, a new garden named after a police sergeant who worked with them. (created with help from Groundwork Birmingham) The pragmatic approach of Chris and others in the Birmingham South West residents group reminds me of so many others we’ve spoken to on the Grassroots Channel, especially the people of Perry Common and Masood Yasin in Washwood Heath. [...]
[...] Sue Beardsmore talks to Mary Harvey and Sheila Barker of the Witton Lodge Community Association. Also of interest will be this pdf briefing on neighbourhood policing plus earlier programmes on the volunteers running their local police station and how demolition in Perry Common planted the power in the hands of the people. [...]
[...] Sue Beardsmore talks to Mary Harvey and Sheila Barker of the Witton Lodge Community Association. Also of interest will be this pdf briefing on neighbourhood policing plus earlier programmes on the volunteers running their local police station and how demolition in Perry Common planted the power in the hands of the people. [...]
[...] 4. Does no Pay Make you Powerful? Linda Hines and Michelle Ashmore of Witton Lodge Community Association on how people power is transforming Perry Common. [...]
[...] 4. Does no Pay Make you Powerful? Linda Hines and Michelle Ashmore of Witton Lodge Community Association on how people power is transforming Perry Common. [...]
[...] Recently I met two women who run the Witton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common. It’s a resident run business which has been driving the communal and physical regeneration of this Birmingham neighbourhood. “Being unpaid makes us powerful”, they told me. Why? For a number of reasons, but one it the freedom it creates to do what is right, rather than what the paymaster requires. Come off it…business is about money. [...]
[...] Recently I met two women who run the Witton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common. It’s a resident run business which has been driving the communal and physical regeneration of this Birmingham neighbourhood. “Being unpaid makes us powerful”, they told me. Why? For a number of reasons, but one it the freedom it creates to do what is right, rather than what the paymaster requires. Come off it…business is about money. [...]
[...] Ally Sultana works with women in Balsall Heath and has been developing a podcast project – she’s already explored some social media. Audrey Miller helped create the Jubilee Debt campaign which put so much pressure on the 1998 Birmingham G8 to cancel debt to Africa. Serena Malone works with Rural net, and again is someone who may be able to teach as much as she learns. the there’s Gary Smith from firstlightmedia, working with young people, Colin Kerrigan of the charity Stage 2. Then there’s Linda Hines from the Witton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common, who’s also a community champion for Be Birmingham (I recently worked with Be Birmingham on simple podcasts and material for their youtube channel and flickr.) Stephen Brook is coming along from the educational charity excell3. Other community champions might join, as might community groups who’ve worked with Groundwork in Birmingham and members of the Third Sector Assembly. [...]
[...] Ally Sultana works with women in Balsall Heath and has been developing a podcast project – she’s already explored some social media. Audrey Miller helped create the Jubilee Debt campaign which put so much pressure on the 1998 Birmingham G8 to cancel debt to Africa. Serena Malone works with Rural net, and again is someone who may be able to teach as much as she learns. the there’s Gary Smith from firstlightmedia, working with young people, Colin Kerrigan of the charity Stage 2. Then there’s Linda Hines from the Witton Lodge Community Association in Perry Common, who’s also a community champion for Be Birmingham (I recently worked with Be Birmingham on simple podcasts and material for their youtube channel and flickr.) Stephen Brook is coming along from the educational charity excell3. Other community champions might join, as might community groups who’ve worked with Groundwork in Birmingham and members of the Third Sector Assembly. [...]
[...] If you want to prepare yourself listen to the sometimes tearful story of why she does what she does please listen to this podcast from the Grassroots Channel. No Pay Makes You Powerful [13:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download [...]
[...] If you want to prepare yourself listen to the sometimes tearful story of why she does what she does please listen to this podcast from the Grassroots Channel. No Pay Makes You Powerful [13:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download [...]
[...] Among the dozens of brilliant people I’ve interviewed for the Grassroots Channel Podcast, Linda Hines is right up there amongst the ones who really made an impact on me. She is an unstoppable pragmatist and optimists (and has even begun blogging although we still need to help her along with this). Linda is a volunteer director of the Witton Lodge Community Association and has just been awarded her MBE for services to the community in North Birmingham. [...]
[...] Among the dozens of brilliant people I’ve interviewed for the Grassroots Channel Podcast, Linda Hines is right up there amongst the ones who really made an impact on me. She is an unstoppable pragmatist and optimists (and has even begun blogging although we still need to help her along with this). Linda is a volunteer director of the Witton Lodge Community Association and has just been awarded her MBE for services to the community in North Birmingham. [...]