How We’re Creating New Connections Across Oxford This Summer
As Covid-19 restrictions ease, we are taking advantage of the warm weather to create healthier, happier, more connected communities through the power of relationships. Read on to find out more about our activities this summer.
We’re having a busy summer at Oxford Hub, with lots of opportunities for building relationships in communities. We believe that social connection is essential for us all to thrive, and we’ve not had as many opportunities to gather with others over the past 18 months.
Summer of fun in the Community Impact Zone
Children and young people have missed out on so many opportunities to learn, have fun and spend time with their friends. Over the summer we are running summer schools for over 130 children who would benefit from having lots of fun, taking part in physical activities and enjoying a healthy meal every day. Summer Schools are only made possible thanks to a collaborative network of partners, schools and amazing Oxford Hub members who volunteer their time to make this time extra special for the children taking part. Find out more about what it’s like to be part of the summer school team in our blog.
Moving more, together
With lockdown sending everyone’s levels of physical activity plummeting, we have been partnering with Active Oxfordshire to make more community-based physical activity happen. That doesn’t mean serious organised sports clubs, but instead lots of opportunities to move more, meet people and enjoy the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of taking part in these activities. Our colleague Natasha has been coordinating lots of fun sessions across the Community Impact Zone, and the team continues to help families get out and about on their bikes. If you want to support these efforts, you can still donate your old bike or support our community fundraising appeal.
Building digital systems
Over the past year, many Oxford Hub programmes have grown their reach and impact across communities. Managing this growth wouldn’t have been possible without a significant amount of digital investment and development at Oxford Hub. With support from Catalyst funding, we partnered with Oxford Code Lab and developed a platform to support Phone Links. Building on this learning we have been able to launch similar digital platforms for our Schools Plus and Big Brothers Big Sisters programmes. With ongoing support from the Catalyst Momentum Programme, this summer we are exploring ways in which these platforms can be integrated across partner organisations. We are interested in how this could facilitate collaboration across the whole system, as we saw during the Oxford Together emergency response. Stay tuned for more updates via our blog or get in touch with us if you want to know more.
Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion
Launching Oxford Together in March 2020 changed the makeup of our organisation. We were more visible in communities, and it became pressing to find ways in which our teams of staff and volunteers could better reflect those communities. We have come a long way since then, but increasing visible diversity isn’t enough. Over the summer we are continuing to work with the team to make sure our activities shift power to those who have less of it, working with our team to challenge discrimination when it occurs, and supporting everyone to feel included and able to be a good ally when required. This is not easy or quick work, but we are collaborating with others across the sector, and drawing ideas from the Oxfordshire All In Equality Framework for Oxfordshire.
