More Events added to Citywide Festival of volunteering and community groups

Showcasing the spirit of the voluntary and community sector in Manchester

More events are have been added to the Spirit of Manchester Festival - a citywide celebration of the amazing and invaluable services delivered by the voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises in Manchester.

Between 1^st and 10^th of October events will be taking place targeting a vast range of people of all ages, backgrounds, communities and neighbourhoods across the city. These events, organised by local groups are open to everyone living, working in or visiting Manchester. They are free to enter and are about using the wealth of talent in hundreds of local groups to entertain, inform and celebrate the true community Spirit of Manchester.

The Festival now has over 55 events lined up with more being added every day. There is a host of different organisations participating all across the city including:

For volunteers we have Southway Housing Trust, Manchester Carers Forum and the British Red Cross hosting fairs to join up volunteers with exciting projects
For younger people Greater Manchester Youth Network is hosting a house party to showcase its work and engage the young people in Manchester, Z-Arts are putting on Capoeira, music and drama classes for all ages
Manchester Action on Street Health are hosting an open morning raising awareness about the incredible work they do helping women in sex work.
Manchester Museum’s Silver Sunday and Friendly Faces’ Fun Day are great events for older people
The Festival is is being previewed with an incredible warm-up Art Jam with Mantra Live and CAN, showcasing young musical talent in Manchester on 27^thof September

The 2015 Spirit of Manchester Festival is already on track to break the record set by the first one in September 2014 which saw over 70 events take place across the city during a single week.

The Festival is co-ordinated by Macc, the support organisation for the city’s voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.

Mike Wild, Chief Executive of Macc said:

“We have a wonderful, diverse and passionate voluntary sector in Manchester. It’s something Manchester should be proud of and cherish. The Festival week is a chance for the sector to shine, to show the invaluable work we all do. We want to stand up and shout about it, invite people in and get everyone involved.

This is a difficult time. Local organisations are facing repeated cuts to their funding. Even some of the most high profile charities are under enormous pressure. But this isn’t just about money – it’s about skills and time and energy. The voluntary sector at its best is local people getting together to make great things happen. So our hope for the Festival is to show everyone in Manchester just how important it is for us to have these organisations – which range from tiny community groups to large national charities – supporting local people with everything from welfare support for homeless people, refugees to things like after school clubs, sports groups, conservation groups, arts and culture. All of that is part of the life of this city and we all benefits from these organisations: we need to play our part in ensuring they survive and thrive. The Spirit of Manchester Festival is a chance to celebrate, to find out more and to get involved. It’s also a chance to meet some fantastic people and go to all kinds of local events and activities for free! Come down to as many events as possible! Tell your friends! See for yourself what the people of our city can do.”

Notes for Editors

Macc is a charity which provides support to Manchester’s voluntary and community sector. The organisation provides support to local groups in finding funds, setting up and developing, working in partnership, campaigning. Macc also runs the Manchester Voluntary Sector Assembly and Volunteer Centre Manchester.
Macc’s “State of the Sector” research published in 2013 revealed there are some 3093 voluntary and community sector organisations in the city of Manchester employing 12,400 staff alongside 94,300 volunteers.
The centrepiece of the Festival is the Spirit of Manchester Awards celebrating the achievements of voluntary and community groups all across the city.

Further information