James Rose, 15 years old, serves as a real example of how anything is possible regardless of your situation or who you are. James has been actively involved with our Big Local Youth Action Team for over 2 years and has been leading the development (alongside young volunteers) our new youth peer-to-peer mental health support programme, due to launch in early 2020.

​On Friday 6th December 2019, he spoke at our 4th Big Local Community Volunteer Awards Ceremony in front of over 200 people. He delivered a strong, passionate and compelling speech about his personal volunteering journey and the importance of getting involved with your local community. A future Mayor of London or Prime Minister in the making?

Read more about James Rose and his volunteering journey here.

To get involved with volunteering for Heston West Big Local please click here.

Friday 29th November 2019 – An incredible community intergenerational performance was delivered by our fantastic volunteers and participants in partnership with Bantu Arts. In our Ugandan inspired performance ‘Together We Are Stars’, we highlighted social concerns and issues surrounding online bullying, body image, Brexit and climate change. The play was written and directed by Big Local youth volunteer Sharanjit Kaur, 16, this was the first time she ventured into the dramatic arts and she did a wonderful job.

In our first story, Juhi Kumra (long-standing volunteer for the Big Local and now a university student studying Theatre and English Literature) was brilliant in her role as the shy but stubborn Tina Rajput. Tina struggling with social anxiety, online bullying and with her body image, suddenly finds herself involved in the dark world of knife crime. The story focused on how through low self-esteem, the pressures of looking good online and peer to peer bullying, can lead someone to take the wrong path with devastating consequences.
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​Our second story told a tale of the impact of Brexit and how the referendum result had divided our society rather than united. Our final story highlighted the real concerns of climate change and what we can do to help. We heard from giant Tortoises explaining how plastic waste is destroying their habitats, killings innocent animals in the process. The audience were given tips on how to reduce waste, save energy and tools to protect their local environment. 

Despite the heavy social topics, the performance was inspiring, captivating, colourful and entertaining. Through the art of Ugandan music and dance, our performers were able to bring the topics to life, wowing the audience during the evening. Overall, all performers and crew did an exceptional job bringing joy and laughter to the audience. Big congratulations to all at Bantu Arts, our talented performers, volunteers and their families for their involvement and also our excellent audience for showing their community support. We look forward to starting our new intergenerational theatre project with Bantu Arts in the New Year, so what for this space. ​