A night of festive cheer and community power
In December 2025, we came together with local neighbours for an inspiring evening at the wonderful Resonance Centre in Clayton to celebrate our Step Forward Fund. Thanks to the support of Great Places, we had £5,000 available for community led ideas in Ancoats & Beswick and Clayton & Openshaw.
Our Step Forward Fund put decision making into the hands of the community, inviting residents to vote on which projects should receive funding to make a positive difference in the neighbourhood.
Community pitching and celebration
The most wonderful part of the evening were the community pitches. We heard from incredible local groups sharing ideas on how to boost health and wellbeing in the area.
Alongside the pitching and voting, the evening was also a festive celebration. The Resonance Centre was filled with joy as musical performances, spoken word, hot soup, mince pies, mulled wine and a visit from Santa kept everyone busy.
We also had a popular food and drink donation station for local food pantries. The generosity shown on the night was a reminder of community spirit in our neighbourhood.
Local pitches
The evening saw pitches from a wonderful range of community groups. These included The Resonance Centre, Clayton’s holistic wellbeing hub, Rise & Flourish with their ESOL cooking and movement classes, Infinity Yoga offering affordable yoga for local people, and Lingua GM providing bilingual interpreting, translation and counselling services.
We also heard from Calm Minds Collective, who support neurodivergent young people, a new Multilingual Choir led by local resident Edmund, The Beacon Centre in Clayton, and Higher Openshaw Community Group.
You can learn more about each group, over on our Local Projects page.
Funded projects
Following the anticipated community voting, four projects were awarded funding.
The Resonance Centre received £2,000 to support their mission to become a whole-person health hub. The funding will help pay for a walking facilitator, who will actively involve residents in shaping services.
Rise & Flourish were awarded £2,000 to support their ESOL cooking and movement programme. Learners will have the opportunity to learn English, cook delicious food, move together and build confidence.
Calm Minds Collective received £500 to continue providing vital support services for neurodivergent young people in the local community.
The Multilingual Choir was awarded £200 to support ESOL music sessions, bringing people together through song and language.
With special thanks
A huge thank you to everyone who pitched, voted, performed, donated and celebrated with us!
Thank you to Great Places for making this fund possible, to the Resonance Centre for hosting us, and to all the local residents and groups who brought the evening to life. We cannot wait to see these projects grow!