Trafford Hall: a Grade  2 mansion just outside Chester. Not surprising that I’ve just spent a day there. Its heritage value is obvious. But I was there not in my professional capacity, but as a Director of the National Communities Resource Centre, a charity that equips and inspires individuals from low income communities to help build a better more sustainable future.

The staff team, many of whom come to Trafford Hall to work, and discover a vocation, are warm, welcoming and really good at what they do. The venue is something special: we sleep in Segal-designed chalets, facing woodland, set around a beautiful garden. We meet in the Hall itself, which houses community courses and the weddings and other events which help sustain the charity’s core purpose.

We heard from past delegates from Cornwall, Doncaster, York and Cheshire, from London and Manchester. Individuals whose brief time at Trafford Hall has inspired them to further community, and personal, development.

David’s  group won the Queen’s award for Voluntary Service. The Chairperson of the Penwerris tenants’ group in Falmouth now has a county-wide role in Cornwall. Zena from York has helped tenants of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust find their voice through the positive scrutiny process. And Bruce from Doncaster is taking his message out to other communities, helping them tackle food poverty and turn ‘inspiration into aspiration’.

We heard from young people who had attended a course funded by the builder Wilmott Dixon. Emily is now an apprentice carpenter. Jon is about to begin a PTLLS course to work with adult learners, having been inspired by the trainers on his own course, and Tom has been offered interviews for a range of jobs after two years of unemployment.

What all these individuals have in common is a commitment to making things happen, for their communities and for themselves. Trafford Hall helped them find their own way of moving forward.

They all faced, and still face, challenges in achieving their goals – who doesn’t – but they are proof that, with the right support, it is possible to make a difference.

This is really important, life-changing work. More information on Trafford Hall can be found here: http://www.traffordhall.com/ . As a charity, we rely on support from a wide range of individuals and organisations, as well as from the great work of Emyr and his events team. If you are interested in supporting us, please don’t be shy: get in touch with our Chief Executive, Sally, at the Hall. You won’t regret it!