Community Stories
Celebration of your stories
Welcome to community stories, a place to share news and celebrate what is happening in your community. If you have any stories you would like to feature on our page or in next months newsletter please get in touch at communityresilience@coventry.gov.uk or leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
Fight Academy Boxing Gym Brings Warmth and Hope to Coventry’s Homeless This Christmas
This festive season, Fight Academy, a community boxing gym based in Radford, is stepping beyond the ropes to make a real difference in Coventry City Centre. In a heartfelt act of solidarity, the team is reaching out to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents by distributing warm blankets, essential hygiene packs, and Greggs food vouchers.
Partnering with local social enterprise Get Fruity, the initiative will also provide fresh, nourishing soup on Christmas Eve, ensuring that those experiencing homelessness feel supported and cared for during what can be an especially challenging time of year.
This outreach reflects Fight Academy’s commitment to using sport as a force for good — championing not just physical strength, but community spirit, dignity, and kindness. Together with Get Fruity, the team hopes to shine a light on the power of local organisations coming together to create meaningful change.
As we celebrate the season of giving, this initiative is a timely reminder that small acts of generosity can have a big impact. Coventry’s community spirit is alive and thriving — and this Christmas, it’s making a difference where it matters most.
Stoke Aldermoor Stitchers – Exciting News!
With the support of the Community Resilience Team the Stoke Aldermoor Stitchers have received over £14,000 in funding for new equipment! This means we can continue running our sewing group and make it even better.
The group is open to all ages and is a great way to:
- Learn sewing skills
- Upcycle old or damaged clothing
- Meet new people from the local area
If you’re interested in joining or want more information, please contact:
Aldermoor LIFE Centre
78 Roundhouse Road
Coventry
CV3 1DA
024 7645 4010
Generosity Shines This Christmas
We’re proud to share the incredible impact of donations and support across our community this festive season:
- £450 worth of food donated to Feeding Coventry and World Food Hub
- Three wheelie bins full of winter coats delivered to Clothing Coventry, helping families stay warm
- A huge collection of toys and presents for families struggling at Christmas
A Heartfelt Thank You
Dani from Carriers of Hope shared this message:
"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the toy donations from the council. Without them, our Christmas celebration for many of our families simply would not have been possible. Your support helped turn a very real worry into joy for so many children. Huge thank you from Carriers of Hope."
Previous Stories
Welcome to community stories, a place to share news and celebrate what is happening in your community. If you have any stories you would like to feature on our page or in next months newsletter please get in touch at communityresilience@coventry.gov.uk or leave a comment at the bottom of this page.
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Share Bridging Cultures: Digital Storytelling & Creative Connections for Community Empowerment (Coventry, UK & Coburg, Germany) on Facebook Share Bridging Cultures: Digital Storytelling & Creative Connections for Community Empowerment (Coventry, UK & Coburg, Germany) on Twitter Share Bridging Cultures: Digital Storytelling & Creative Connections for Community Empowerment (Coventry, UK & Coburg, Germany) on Linkedin Email Bridging Cultures: Digital Storytelling & Creative Connections for Community Empowerment (Coventry, UK & Coburg, Germany) link
Bridging Cultures: Digital Storytelling & Creative Connections for Community Empowerment (Coventry, UK & Coburg, Germany)
Intercultural Roots (IR) and MakingCulture® e.V. announce their participation in the Cultural Bridge 2025-2026 programme, a UK-German initiative driving cross-border collaboration through arts, technology, and community engagement. Titled "Bridging Cultures: Digital Storytelling and Creative Connections for Community Empowerment", the partnership will connect Coventry (UK) and Coburg (Germany) in a year-long exchange of hybrid workshops, participatory arts, and digital storytelling, running from April 2025 to March 2026.
Core Activities & Innovation
The project merges IR's PLACES by EcoGPX® app - a geo-tagged storytelling platform - with MakingCulture's experimental arts expertise to reimagine public spaces. Key activities include:
- Hybrid Workshops... Continue reading
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February Newsletter 2025
... Continue readingCoventry Spires U3A Secures National Lottery Funding
The Coventry Spires University of the 3rd Age (U3A), a group dedicated to supporting individuals past retirement age, has successfully secured £8,500 in funding from the National Lottery Awards for All small grants fund. This significant achievement will help the group continue offering a wide range of activities, including rambling, table tennis, book clubs, quizzes, bowling, and friendship groups across various venues in the city.
The group, formed in 2002, was seeking external funding to cover venue costs and purchase essential equipment such as microphones, projector screens, and a new table tennis table. -
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January Newsletter 2025
Congratulations to Sing for Change community group who have been awarded £1,000 from the General Charities (Coventry). The group contacted the Community Resilience Team for support to keep the group sustainable and help remove financial barriers to participation for those members who need it.
Sing for Change is an exciting, intergenerational community choir, building strong relationships between diverse people across Coventry. Established six years ago, the group members share the belief that we need to create a kinder, more compassionate, inclusive world - a fundamental principle of Sing for Change. The group is open to all, singing songs with messages... Continue reading
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Decembers Community Stories
Coventry Food Network Christmas Campaign 2024
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported this year's Coventry Food Network Christmas campaign. Local businesses and staff have collected much needed food donations which have been given to Coventry Food Network organisations.
Here's a shout out to some local organisations who have worked with the Community Resilience Team to support this year's campaign.
Capita support Feeding Coventry at Foleshill Community Centre
Elena Frangu and Capita staff was one of the first organisations to offer their help with the Coventry Food Network Christmas campaign.
They collected approximately £400 worth of food for... Continue reading
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November's Community Stories
Please support your local Food Hub or Food Bank this Christmas
Christmas is a time of giving, and what better way to help your community than by supporting a local food hub near you during the festive season?
Coventry Food Hubs –
A network of 15 social supermarkets across Coventry. The Food Hubs (Social Supermarkets) offer discounted food parcels, which typically equate to £25 worth of food for a cost of a £5 membership per week. Food hubs differ from food banks, in that the food is not entirely free, but provides a wide range of food for a very... Continue reading
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October's Community Stories
Local businesses support the Tile Hill summer community event
As part of Coventry City Council’s ongoing commitment to social value, the Business Development and Community Resilience Teams have been working closely with local businesses to support charitable initiatives and community-focused events.
The Tile Hill Community Partnership (THCP), reached out for support in hosting a community event for local residents. The event featured a treasure hunt designed for young people, encouraging them to explore community spaces and council buildings, including the library and family hub. At each stop, participants collected clues and stamps, and upon completing the hunt, they received back-to-school... Continue reading
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Share New Connections, Meanings, and Practices: EcoGPX® External Evaluation Highlights Transformative Impact in Coventry on Facebook Share New Connections, Meanings, and Practices: EcoGPX® External Evaluation Highlights Transformative Impact in Coventry on Twitter Share New Connections, Meanings, and Practices: EcoGPX® External Evaluation Highlights Transformative Impact in Coventry on Linkedin Email New Connections, Meanings, and Practices: EcoGPX® External Evaluation Highlights Transformative Impact in Coventry link
New Connections, Meanings, and Practices: EcoGPX® External Evaluation Highlights Transformative Impact in Coventry
Intercultural Roots is thrilled to unveil the External Evaluation Report of its Innovate UK-funded EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire project. Authored by Dr. Jo Scott, the report celebrates the project’s groundbreaking achievements in fostering creative connections, re-imagining urban spaces, and pioneering innovative practices in place-based art and technology.
Access the visual version of the report here: EcoGPX® Evaluation Report
A Project of New Connections
EcoGPX® has brought together artists, practitioners, and communities in Coventry, creating a dynamic and inclusive creative network. Through four artistic residencies, the project has:
Connected artists and practitioners: Diverse artists from various disciplines... Continue reading
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September's Community Stories
Malaysian Ladies Community Group
Champion Inclusivity CIC, with support from the Community Resilience team, successfully secured grant funding from St Mary’s Guildhall, provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This funding facilitated community workshops for the Malaysian Ladies Community Group, aiming to engage diverse audiences with Coventry’s cultural heritage and build connections with underrepresented groups.
The workshops, led by a local artist Daya Bhatti, offered participants the chance to learn new skills through creative textile sessions inspired by the stories of St Mary’s Guildhall. These hands-on experiences also helped foster a lasting relationship between the participants and the historic site.
... Continue reading
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Share EcoGPX®'s Second Coventry Residency: Connecting Art, Nature, Community and Technology! on Facebook Share EcoGPX®'s Second Coventry Residency: Connecting Art, Nature, Community and Technology! on Twitter Share EcoGPX®'s Second Coventry Residency: Connecting Art, Nature, Community and Technology! on Linkedin Email EcoGPX®'s Second Coventry Residency: Connecting Art, Nature, Community and Technology! link
EcoGPX®'s Second Coventry Residency: Connecting Art, Nature, Community and Technology!
Coventry, UK - September 2024 – The EcoGPX® project's second residency was more than a gathering of artists and nature enthusiasts; it was a transformative event aimed at enhancing community well-being, creating unity, and promoting mental health through creative expression and environmental engagement. Hosted at Coventry Food Union and Fargo Village, this two-day residency brought together diverse individuals to explore the profound connections between art, nature, community and an innovative use of technology!
Day 1: Human-Nature Connection at Coventry Food Union:
The first day centred on the River Sherbourne and the Food Union community’s inspiring efforts in sustainable food growing... Continue reading
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July's Community Stories
Let’s Get Crafty Group - Willenhall
Let's Get Crafty is a community project in Willenhall. The group has successfully secured funding for a two-year project with a £12,000 grant from the National Lottery following support from the Community Resilience Team. The grant will help to secure regular venue hire, will provide quality craft supplies, and enables the group to hire skilled demonstrators to lead creative workshops.
The Let's Get Crafty group brings together women through shared interests in crafts and design. Through crafting activities, the group facilitates social inclusion for participants, encourages new friendships and builds peer support networks, helps... Continue reading