Regent's Park &
Kensington North
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Karen Buck MP Regent's Park & Kensington North |
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The Truth about Community Spirit May 2006 We are bombarded with stories in the media telling us how selfish society has become, and how our neighbourhoods are withering in the face of indifference, fear and downright hostility, but I retain optimistic in the face of this bleakness. For whilst it is undoubtedly true that we are more materialistic than we were, more jealous of our individual identities (though there are upsides to that, too, as anyone who never quite fitted in to the repressive norms of society as it was will tell you), and whilst it is true, also, that mobility and diversity make the city a tougher place to be than it was a few decades ago, bleakness is by no means the whole story. One recent event stand out, amongst many, as an example of what some people are doing just right. Last week, I called in to the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations organised by St Jude’s club, in Queen’s Park. Forty local pensioners, some well into their nineties, some born and bred right there in the ‘avenues’, were treated to a fantastic buffet and entertainment, with all the tables in St Jude’s Hall decorated in festive bunting- and all this done by a group of volunteers who are themselves well into retirement. Paddy and her friends have worked tirelessly over the years to keep St Jude’s going as a ‘self help’ club- so called because when Westminster City Council started cutting back on support to Age Concern, critically important clubs like St Jude’s were thrown back onto their own resources. They raise finds, organise socials and outings and generally contribute, by their own efforts, to making Queen’s Park just that bit better a place to live. Unfortunately, their job is just about to become harder all over again, if plans to increase charges for using the building are allowed to go through. As the volunteers themselves say, they don’t mind at all raising income for the activities themselves, but new charges will mean not only that they have to fund raise in order to hand money back to the council (in the form of CityWest Homes), they won’t even be able to get adequate access to the building to run the fund-raising! So please, Westminster City Council and City West Homes! Let’s have some recognition of what these big-hearted, public spirited volunteers are doing out there, and some appreciation, too, of how important it is for our pensioners to have a social life to enjoy. For the truth is, that people are prepared to make the effort, to care for each other and support their communities. But they need a little help. Volunteering should be encouraged and made easy- and those who do it should not have to face ever higher hurdles of bureaucracy and funding, as they are now facing down at the St Jude’s Club. So let’s meet them halfway. |
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