charity « DavidNikel.org.uk

14Aug/09Off

Post People: Blair Kesseler

Today's Birmingham Post carries a feature on Blair Kesseler, the former chair of the Birmingham Liberal Party, now chief executive of the city's youth homelessness charity St Basils. Definitely worth a read.

"Meanwhile, his interest in politics started while he was still at school and led him to a life-long association with liberalism."

"Asked if he misses the buzz of the political arena, Blair said: “I miss hearing all the gossip first and knowing what was going on before anyone else.”

“One of the best elements of St Basils is being given the opportunity to witness the young people building themselves a platform for the rest of their lives. They have been a constant source of inspiration for me,” Blair said. “It does sound corny but it is like a family. Everyone is so passionate that you can’t help but get caught up in the emotion. In fact, some of the stories you hear from the young people are incredible. If I had hair it would have been permanently stood on end for the last fifteen years.”

Tagged as: charity, ladywood, st-basils No Comments

14Jul/09Off

Examining the Impact of Cardinal Newman’s Work on Ladywood

Norman Power Centre, Ladywood

Today I joined representatives from the Ladywood Project, Spring Hill Library, the Oratory School and Pisces WM at the Norman Power Centre for the latest steering meeting of the Cardinal Newman Community Project. The project will, pending funding, examine the impact of Cardinal Newman and his work on the community of Ladywood over the years.

This will involve examining historical records, interviewing elderly members of the community and involving children from the Oratory school. The work will be displayed in various exhibition spaces and a DVD will be produced to record the work for future generations to enjoy.

I was invited along by project leaders Pisces WM to give input from a community engagement perspective. I was concerned that a lot of valuable information may have left Ladywood over the years as people have moved away. My suggestion was to create a project website with the aim of publicising the project to former Ladywood residents to hopefully capture some of that information.

I'm impressed with the quality and the variety of the partners on board, the dedication of the Pisces WM team and the generational focus which should help to further develop the strong community spirit of the area. It's important to note this is not a religious project examining his work, more the impact of that work on the local community.

Stay tuned for more information as the project develops.