Leader's column: Become a community champion

In her latest column, Tameside Council's Executive Leader Cllr Brenda Warrington is encouraging residents to become a Community Champion.

Before I start today I want to take a moment to pay tribute to one of the undisputed heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the beginning of this month we tragically lost Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised tens of millions of pounds for the NHS before succumbing to the virus himself. 

As well as his incredible personal achievements, no one exemplified more than him the fact that the shining light throughout these dark months has been the way that people have rallied together

It is in that spirit that I am inviting our local residents to become Tameside Community Champions. 

We recognise that the messages around the pandemic and lockdown restrictions can sometimes become confusing or overwhelming. While we do our best to make sure our residents are kept informed, there are many who prefer to receive their information from people that they know and trust. By becoming a Community Champion you can be that person, ensuring that your friends, neighbours and colleagues know exactly what is going on and what they need to do.

The only qualification necessary to become a Community Champion is the desire to help in any way you can. Whether you’re somebody that everyone already knows and listens to, or if it’s your first time doing anything like this, your time and effort is welcome and wanted.

Once you’ve registered on our website, every Monday we’ll send you an email with our key messages and any information that we want people to know. You can then share this with your community in the way that seems best to you.

In order to help you in your role as a Community Champion, our Public Health and Communications Team are holding fortnightly meetings where you can have the opportunity to get any other questions answered as well as give us feedback on what is and isn’t working message-wise in your area. 

Further support is also provided by a dedicated email inbox and What’sApp broadcast.

As difficult as this year has been, it’s seen bonds of community and fellowship forged that will never be broken. 

We know now more than ever that the strength of our communities is judged by how we look after each other and not just ourselves. Let’s keep following the example of Captain Sir Tom and work together to build a fairer and better Tameside, now and in the post-coronavirus world to come.

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