Last night I made a rhubarb crumble using ingredients I’d bought at a local fete last weekend. The fete was organised by Trust Links, a charity that helps people with mental health issues get gardening. Their garden is a hidden gem: a beautiful, serene little space where obviously great things happen — as well as rhubarb for sale were all sorts of other edible and non-edible produce, plus we saw chickens and busy bee hives in action. The Trust Links project is a great community initiative and never having been before, I really enjoyed joining in their May Fayre celebrations.

The night before I’d been to another charity event — this one, an evening of yoga, pilates and complementary therapies in aid of the Nepalese earthquake disaster. It was all brought together by community-spirited locals Dawn and Nikki, plus the help of their many friends. I’ve never seen such a well stocked raffle. So many people contributed to the event to make it a success, with stalls, free therapy taster sessions, a cafe, singers and performers. It was a buzzing, awesome night.

We chose the town of Leigh-on-Sea as our home nine years ago. I didn’t realise at the time just how strong the sense of community here would be. The two events I attended are a reminder of the power of community and the ability of how a few people coming together can really make a difference.

Today sees the start of a crowdfunding campaign for another community initiative — Trawler. Trawler is a publication that has been pulled together by a variety of contributors (including me) and whilst it’s not for charity none of the contributors are earning a penny from it. It’s an initiative to celebrate our local environs and the people who inhabit it. It’s been a real labour of love for everyone involved, creating this community generated publication. Trawler needs £1,400 to get printed, so we are asking the crowd to support it via Crowdfunder.

People often sit around and talk about doing stuff. The challenge is in making those ideas happen, especially when they are time-consuming side projects. Perhaps many people around the world would have thought about organising a Nepalese fundraiser; kudos to the two women locally who turned thought into action. And the same with Trawler: we could have had the idea and left it there. Instead, designers, writers, editors, photographers got on board to turn the thought into reality.

It’s hard to have the guts to go out and do something, not least because putting a head above a parapet to do something different is a risky business. So here’s to the doers. I will raise of glass to them over my rhubarb crumble and debut issue of Trawler.

Want to support Trawler with as little as £2? Head to http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/Trawler