Following the huge success of the first Mayor’s Community Weekend last year, communities across the West Midlands are being given double the cash to host celebrations this summer.
Grants of up to £500 will be on offer to groups across the region including Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire.
The funding is thanks to a partnership between West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and The National Lottery Community Fund.
The Mayor’s Community Weekend will take place on Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2019, with £100,000 of National Lottery funding up for grabs for communities to hold over 200 celebratory events.
For the Mayor’s Community Weekend in 2018, more than 100 events took place across the region including a cardboard box wars in Birmingham City Centre.
Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, said: “The Community Weekend was a real highlight of last year and I am so pleased that The National Lottery Community Fund is doubling its commitment to real community-led events over this weekend again.
“Last year we saw neighbourhoods eating, playing sport and being creative together and moments like this are what make communities stronger.
“I would encourage new groups to come forward to organise an event in their local area for this year’s Mayor’s Community Weekend.”
Dawn McCarthy, Commercial Operations Manager at Age Concern Birmingham, said: “It was fantastic taking part in the Mayor’s Community Weekend last year. Our café has become a real part of the community and we wanted to get people together to celebrate this. It’s a space open to everyone, young or old, to socialise and meet new people.
“A group of veterans, who loved the event, gather here weekly and they’ve become a really close knit group of friends. Our 1940s style tea dance was the first of event if its kind we’ve held in the café and we’ve continued to expand our offering and hold special gatherings like this since.”
Communities can apply for funding from 9am on Friday 22 February 2019 to hold an event during the Mayor’s Community Weekend. Applications close at 9pm on Sunday 17 March 2019.
To find out more about the weekend visit tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/mayors-community-weekend and wmca.org.uk/MCW.
