IAN LEVY COLUMN: Community groups are the beating heart of our country

I was proud to see how our communities threw themselves into the celebrations and I spent the weekend going from event to event in Seaton Valley, Cramlington and Blyth.

Community groups are the beating heart of our country and there is nothing that makes me more proud of being the MP for Blyth Valley than seeing first-hand how youth groups, sports groups, residents groups, organisations like the Royal British Legion, the Rotary Club and many more work tirelessly to help and support people.

Often run by unpaid volunteers it is heart-warming to see the efforts people make and the time they give to support others in their communities and bring people together.

Over the Jubilee weekend I attended many events – too many to mention them all.

Highlights included visiting the Forget Me Knots residents group street party on the Cowpen Quay estate where a passionate group of volunteers have got together to improve their environment and support their fellow residents.

The huge numbers of people there demonstrated that their passion is infectious. I’m doing all I can to help them secure premises to use as a base.

Other highlights included seeing the Royal British Legion marching in Blyth, doing a reading at a Jubilee Celebration Service in St Cuthbert’s Church led by the former Bishop of Jarrow, joining in the celebrations at the Seaton Sluice Jubilee Party and visiting the Cramlington Jubilee Carnival. By the end of the weekend I was happily exhausted.

David and Daniel Harrison at True Potential LLP in Newburn kindly donated some laptops for community groups in Blyth Valley and I have been out and about delivering them and hearing how they will be used to complement the activities of these groups.

Forget Me Nots will use them to lend to residents who don’t have access to a computer or internet access, The Mayfield Centre in Cramlington for their youth activities, Blyth Spartans in their youth work combining sport and learning and Cramlington Voluntary Youth Project in their already huge range of youth support activities.

These are four organisations all working to similar aims in different ways.

Thanks to True Potential for their support.