Author: Ollie Cowan

Sefton’s largest ever crowdfunding programme is celebrating its third birthday later this month.

Nearly £120,000 has been raised by the Sefton Crowd platform since it was created in 2019 to help support good causes and community initiatives within the borough.

Now as the platform turns three years old, Sefton Council and operating partner Spacehive is hosting a special birthday party to celebrate the milestone achievement.

Communities are being invited to attend the free celebration will take place on Wednesday November 30th at SING Plus in Seaforth.

Twenty-three projects have been supported by the Sefton Crowd platform since it began, raising over £119,000.

Projects have widely varied but all must show they can improve health, environmental and social wellbeing for communities across Sefton.

Councillor Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: “I’m delighted that through Sefton Crowd, the Council along with many others across the Borough have been able to support local community groups over the past three years.

“Sefton Crowd’s success has made such a difference for our communities and offered them another avenue into funding their brilliant ideas.

“We take pride in making Sefton a better place for all residents and businesses, and we are so glad that so many have got on board over the last three years.

“By celebrating the success of Sefton’s crowdfunding, we are also recognising the generosity of our community and looking forward to even more developments and proposals from our communities in the future.”

“I encourage all those who are curious to come along and join me in celebrating this incredible achievement to find out how to get involved in Sefton Crowd and create more amazing projects and places together.”

Sefton Crowd was established as a result of the Council’s 2030 Vision, to make Sefton a borough for everyone. It is a crowdfunding initiative designed to encourage, support and create community projects which aim to make a positive difference. This includes park initiatives, community hubs and projects that aim to bring people together.

Successful projects are created by the community, for the community, with backers able to pledge as little as £2 to Sefton Crowd schemes.

Spaces at the celebration event are limited and registration is essential.

To secure their place, people should use the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sefton-crowd-celebrating-100000-raised-for-community-projects-tickets-433626918787

England star Alex Greenwood will become the first ever woman to be awarded the Freedom of Sefton.
 
The Bootle-born Lioness, who captured the nation’s hearts in the summer of 2022 by helping to secure the UEFA Women’s Euros Championship, will become the first woman to be given the illustrious Freedom of the Borough civic honour.
 
Alex will join fellow Bootle footballer Jamie Carragher and famous horse trainer Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain as the only three individuals on Sefton’s Honorary Freedom Scroll, which officially confirms her status as Freewoman of the Borough.
 
Being bestowed the Freedom of the Borough is the highest honour Sefton Council can give to an individual and is only ever considered in exceptional circumstances.
 
At a meeting of Full Council (Thursday, November 17) councillors voted to award Alex with Freedom status.
 
It follows Sefton Council conferring Honorary Freedom of the Borough status on Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust following the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said:  “Alex is a fantastic role model for young people in Sefton and has long been a major influence in the advancement of women and girls’ football within our borough.
 
“Despite still being at the top of her game and competing in the Women’s Super League, Alex regularly takes time to motivate and inspire future generations of sporting stars throughout our communities.”
 
Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing, said: ““I want to take this opportunity to urge all our young sporting stars to take a look at Alex’s hard work and dedication to getting where she is today as one of the world’s best female footballers. 
 
“Her progress is a testament to the excellent school and sports facilities we have within Sefton.”
 
A ceremony to present Alex with her Freedom of the Borough honour is expected to take place in 2023.

Children across Sefton have been putting their best foot forward by making an incredible 15,500 ‘car free’ journeys to and from school.
 
Primary school pupils across the Borough were challenged to use the recent Autumn term to walk more to and from school as part of the national WOW Walk To School Challenge.
 
The month-long challenge was hosted by the Living Streets Charity, which was set up to encourage more active and healthy forms of travel across communities.
 
Teachers recorded that pupils across primary schools in Sefton completed an impressive 15,580 journeys to and from school without using a car in October.
 
These journeys were completed by walking or ‘wheeling’ to school on a bike or scooter. 
 
Pupils at Forefield Community Infant and Nursery School topped the table for the highest number of individual journeys per school, closely followed by Christ Church CofE Primary and Springwell Park Primary.
 
Cllr Diane Roscoe, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said:  “Nearly 800 pupils a day throughout October walking, cycling and scooting their way to school is a fantastic achievement. 
 
“I want to thank all of our schools that took part in the challenge. By encouraging our youngest generations to discover the unlimited benefits of active travel and ending a reliance on the car is ultimately going to have a greater impact on our communities’ future health and wellbeing.
 
“Active Travel schemes are vital, not only for our health and wellbeing, but also for contributing massively to combatting the effects of climate change.
 
“We will continue to work with schools, parents and our communities to make journeys to school easier, safer and more enjoyable”
 
For more information about the Living Streets Walk to School challenge and more visit www.livingstreets.org.uk