The Co-operative Food - Bournemouth, Castle Lane

Bournemouth Recycle is a community Facebook group where we work to save items from landfill, while supporting the local community. Many thousands of items are saved from potential landfill and passed onto other people for re-use. We do not charge for our services. The group was founded in 2020 by Sharon Valler and has over 30,000 local members. Bournemouth Recycle is run by an admin team of 60 local volunteers, covering our group, food surplus scheme and charity collection programme. As well as recycling (around 300 posts per day), we collect and distribute food surplus, three times per week, within our local community and offer additional support to NHS staff in the form of food parcels. We also run a monthly charity appeal, collecting items for local organisations, through our drop off points throughout the area. "The Plot", also founded by Sharon Valler, has raised almost £23,000 for NHS staff welfare locally. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02WjDuAmqUarUEmq27HTFV2Nvidf5GPG1cB2g2ExtmSofYPGJxKZMA3E2jDejpogGtl&id=1314702786 https://bbc.in/3YNaF3C?fbclid=IwAR0SzrRn5Opvs_IKSQyzPEBRZgMoROJNW-juWMxjKNg13cmerrizyKLsH44

No one in our community should face hunger. We provide 3 days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food, and offer support to local people in crisis who are referred to us by support agencies. Our foodbank is a project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in our local area. We feed over 13,000 individuals every year from our warehouse, using a workforce of around 200 dedicated volunteers to make this possible! On site, we also have a beautiful community cafe The Garden Rooms Cafe, which hosts a range of projects such as our social canteen an recovery cafe every week. We provide financial inclusion and income maximisation advice throughout our six foodbank hubs, so that we work towards a future where we can prevent poverty and get to the root cause of the crisis. We have a variety of volunteering opportunities from warehouse operations, administration, food prep and service, redecoration and maintenance...and support with supermarket collections and fundraising events!

Townsend Youth Partnership is committed to transforming the lives of young people in Townsend—one of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods (LSOA, 2019)—by offering inclusive, accessible, and empowering educational and recreational opportunities. Working from our vibrant Youth Centre, located in the heart of Townsend Estate, we support children and young adults aged 5–25, including those with disabilities and additional needs. Our youth-led programmes - such as The Chatterboxes Project - are designed to amplify young voices, promote self-advocacy and equip participants with the confidence and skills to thrive. At the heart of our approach is a belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to fulfil their potential, regardless of background or circumstance. By removing social and structural barriers, we foster social mobility, improve wellbeing and create pathways to meaningful futures. Our work directly contributes to thriving communities, not just by supporting individuals but by cultivating spaces where all young people can connect, grow and belong. It is grassroots, it is place-based and it is powered by the voices of those we serve. With YMCA Bournemouth as our sole Trustee, we benefit from strong governance, shared values and deep-rooted expertise in community development. We are addressing entrenched disadvantage and building a future where opportunity, inclusion, and dignity are not the exception, but the norm. One young person said of Townsend Youth "“I have met new people who have shaped my worldview and made lots of friends. The staff are really supportive and don’t behave like teachers, which I really like.”