Community firms celebrate

ON the bank holiday weekend, the Give2Gain community in Stockport is joining other community businesses around the country to celebrate the third annual Community Business Weekend.

The weekend offers an opportunity for local people to visit and see how they can get involved.

On Friday, May 4, from 11.30am to 1pm, the Give2Gain Community, which has been community-owned since 2015, is hosting a community networking event at the Rhode Island Café in Stockport.

Lynn Sbaih from the Give2Gain Community said: “We have developed a helping community in Stockport and our event provides an opportunity for local Stockport people to find out more about what we do.”

Peter Jenkins, interim chief executive at organisers Power to Change, added: “Community businesses are a great example of local people taking power into their own hands.

“Every day tens of thousands of people get up and go to work at one of the 7,000 community businesses in England.

“Hundreds of thousands of us shop, visit or benefit from them directly, but they are still relatively unknown. That’s why Community Business Weekend is so important. It shines a light on these community-run gems that not only bring muchneeded services and spaces to a community, but also boost local economies and reinvest the profits for the benefit of local people.”