Elke Weissman a director from Love Wavertree gave an inspiring talk about their work.
Their aims are to promote:
- A lively and thriving community in Wavertree, a deprived area of Liverpool
- Promote social justice and
- Initiatives to support sustainability and to address climate change locally
They began by building a sense of community by
- encouraging litter picks,
- working with the police to hold car free days to use the space for cricket and dancing and
- holding a Winter Wonderland event with market stalls at different locations around Wavertree.
Love Wavertree charity shop
They were then offered a local charity shop to rent at a low rate and they have developed this int oa community hub where they are providing a vibrant community hub and among other things they:
- provide an outlet for local businesses, for example local refurbishment and local artists
- they recycle clothes and other useful items
- hold a weekly food club to redistribute food that would otherwise go to land fill – 10 items for £3.50. This makes some items affordable to people on low incomes who would otherwise go without.
The money from this is used to fund local projects:
- Local football gear
- A defibrillator that has saved two people’s lives already
- Greening local alleys
- Film screenings
- A book club
- Cheap good quality school uniforms and prom dresses
They also hold quarterly markets and link with University of Liverpool and Edge Hill University to provide surveys around local community needs. They have also produced 4 films about the work they are doing and they have held four climate assemblies.
