Social Action Hubs are grassroots organisations that are committed to building community power through community organising. To find out more about social action hubs and join the growing network click the link below
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Framework sections highlighted: Connect, Leadership, Listening, Organise
Community Roots CIC are an Affiliated Training Provider and since their inception in 2013, have been pioneers of Community Organising in Gloucestershire. Using this approach, they are empowering the local community to take action and create change that will have a positive impact on their lives and the lives of the wider community.
Community Roots CIC are a small organisation and one of three Affiliated Training Providers. This means they are able to offer quality assured training on behalf of Community Organisers.
They use their training to reach out, listen and connect with people in the community, and train individuals and communities in this process to build their capacity and develop their confidence and skills to take action on the things that really matter to them.
We use Community Organising to ignite action. By using Community Organising principles to effectively engage residents we can bring them together to make social change that matters to them.
They are a grassroots, community-led organisation addressing food poverty, civic disempowerment, and asset-based community development in Gloucester.
This work has led to the development of three projects; The Ewe Space Project in Matson, Community Cafe in Gloucester Park and the Community Pantry and Social Action Hub in Westgate.
The Ewe Space is a Social Action Hub in Matson with a residents’ group with 16 volunteers. Community Roots are supporting them to develop the Space into a resident run Community Hub providing them with the skills they need to run a hub and exploring the option of developing it as a social enterprise to bring in a sustainable revenue stream.
Residents are also being trained in community organising to give them the skills they need to reach out and engage with the wider community to build their capacity to take ownership of the hub.
The residents have little or no experience in running a community building and funding for running a community building is difficult to find - so alongside their community activities and action it's important that we explore enterprising ways to sustain the hub and the activities that the community would like.
They have also set up a community enterprise at the community cafe in Gloucester Park. Their work in the park began in 2015, where they supported a group of young men to develop the skills to bring together their community and raise £85,000 for improvements to their skate park.
They then went on to run a series of community events in the park listening to the community about what they would like to see in the park. From this they learnt that local people wanted the community café to reopen and for it to offer opportunities for local people to work, train and volunteer.
They linked up with the Gloucestershire Skill and Employment Agency to offer training and work experience to young people through their 100 futures programme – this training also extends across all 3 of their projects in Matson and Westgate.
After a long process they secured a 12 month trial licence to run the café in the park as a community enterprise which began at the end of February 2025.
This cafe is an excellent opportunity to engage with the community and to offer them a chance to gain new skills. We are training a local woman with a background in catering, in aspects of social enterprise and business management, to become the café manager, with the intention of her progressing from a volunteer to an employee.
Their final strand of work focuses on tackling food poverty and food insecurity. Community Roots were the catalyst organisation for the setting up of Feeding Gloucestershire to tackle food insecurity.
Westgate has the highest percentage of food bank users of all the wards across the city with rising food insecurity and fragmented food support networks.
This has led to Gloucester City Homes offering them a shop space to develop into a Community Pantry and Social Action Hub in Westgate.
Through our work we recognise that food poverty is a symptom of other issues, which is why we would like the hub space to have a variety of additional support offers.
Initially the space will be developed as a pantry and hub but there is a view for it to develop into a community shop offering fresh produce due to a link with a local urban farming collective – We are Project Grow alongside offering other key services such as
Members will also be provided with the opportunity for community organising training, work experience, volunteering and relevant work based training such as level 2 food hygiene.
Community Roots CIC’s work in Gloucestershire proves that small, well-supported teams can deliver systemic change. By blending food justice, community organising, Community Asset Acquisitions and local enterprising, this model offers a blueprint for how the government can invest in and amplify community-led approaches to poverty, wellbeing, and democratic renewal.
Social Action Hubs are grassroots organisations that are committed to building community power through community organising. Join our powerful and growing network by clicking the link below...
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