Author: Martin Driver

LCR Pride Foundation has announced that its MarchOnline will return on Saturday 31st July and that registrations are now open.

The virtual march will once again take place on what would have been the day of the city region’s Pride celebrations – the March with Pride and Pride in Liverpool. The organisation’s physical Pride celebrations were cancelled earlier in the year, due to ongoing uncertainty and risks around mass public gatherings and the COVID-19 roadmap.

The foundation will once again invite individuals, groups and businesses to join the MarchOnline by submitting videos and images, this year calling on those participating to also make specific pledges to enact change ‘From Now On’, in line with the organisation’s 2021/22 theme.

The virtual march will comprise videos of speeches from local leaders and short interviews, combined with individuals marching, cheering and holding placards in their own homes, submitted by the members of the public, charities and businesses supporting the LGBT+ community.

The videos will then be broadcast from the organisation’s social channels, at 12 noon on Saturday 31st July, when the physical march would usually take place.

LCR Pride Foundation CEO, Andi Herring, said: “Our theme this year is our most community and activism-focused ever, and our annual March with Pride has always been at the heart of grassroots activism within the community.

“Each year, we march to highlight the inequalities and injustices that the LGBT+ community still faces in the city region and around the world.

“This year we want to take that one step further. We want to use the march to draw a line in the stand and highlight the ways that we – as individuals, organisations and businesses – can take action to enact real change.”

Individuals wishing to take part in the virtual march are asked to register and submit a landscape-orientation photo or 20-second video while waving, cheering, marching, dancing, posing with a partner, family, friends or pets, or even displaying a banner.

They are also encouraged to submit a ‘From Now On’ statement, outlining a specific action or actions that they will take to make real change.

Organisations wishing to ‘march’ as a group will also be given the opportunity to provide a 10 – 20 second video from a designated spokesperson, introducing the organisation, why it is marching and sharing their organisation’s ‘From Now On’ statement.

The deadline for video and image submissions for the MarchOnline is midnight on Wednesday 14th July. Full details of how to submit your video can be found at lcrpride.co.uk/march

 For more information and announcements about LCR Pride Foundation’s digital programme and other initiatives, visit lcrpride.co.uk

Students from Hugh Baird College have formed a volunteer group to help clean up the streets around the College’s Bootle campus.

The group, comprised of learners from across the College’s courses, have created their own ‘Community Action Group’ to tackle the litter on the streets of Bootle with an aim to make a difference to the local community.

Support from the Council’s Cleansing Team

The students were supported during their first litter-picking sessions by Sefton Council’s Locality Services who provided bags and litter pickers as well as two Eco vehicles to assist with sweeping and clearing.

In total they filled over 100 refuse bags of rubbish, ranging from takeaway bags to plastic bottles.

Rebecca Clegg, a Hospitality and Catering student at Hugh Baird College, said: “I enjoyed our first get-together to clean up the streets around our campus and I was astonished to see the amount of litter we collected after just a few hours. I feel proud of the difference we’ve made so far.”

Thank you

Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services, said: “Our Cleansing Officers were so impressed with the students from Hugh Baird College. I also caught up with a group of them after a successful few hours of litter clearance and was able to say a massive thank you on behalf of our communities to them for their efforts.

“Often the youngsters in our neighbourhoods are blamed for making a mess and not caring about their environment. It was fantastic to see this group, and the College, playing their part in looking after the streets here in Bootle.”

Working together with our communities 

Peter Moore, Sefton Council’s Head of Highways & Public Protection, said: “These students are setting a real example for how our communities have a role to play in keeping our Borough looking great. I hope that people will take notice of these students, leading by example, and will think again before they decide to drop litter. Perhaps they’ll even encourage others to keep their streets tidy too.

“We do have limited Council resources and so strengthening relationships with local building and landowners, as well as volunteer and community groups, ensures that we can work together in a collective effort that means we all take responsibility to keep Sefton clean, green and beautiful.”

Proud to be in Bootle 

Rachael Hennigan, Principal and Chief Executive of Hugh Baird College, said: “As a College, we care deeply about our local community and we are proud to have our Balliol Road Campus based in the heart of Bootle. The litter pick was an excellent example of how, by working together, we can make a real and positive difference to the area.

“The students are a real credit to the College and it was inspiring to see so many of them take part. This is the first of many community litter picks through which we can continue to grow our collective sense of pride for the place in which we live, work and study.

“I’d like to thank Sefton Council’s Locality Services team for the support they’ve given to our students and their new group.”