Deborah Ingram is a trustee of All Nations Ministries – a Plymouth-based charity established in 2001 which offers a range of activities and services for refugees and asylum seekers newly arrived in the city, aimed at promoting racial harmony and better social integration with the local community. 

Its Football United project supports young people living in the Devonport and Stonehouse areas of Plymouth and aims to reduce fear and anxiety around negative portrayals of people from diverse cultures and ethnicities, to create a stronger, more integrated and respectful city. 

Asked about the importance of the project for young people, Deborah said: ‘it contributes to their self-worth, and helps to combat long periods of loneliness and isolation as well as providing a chance to improve their level of English and confidence.’

Kelly has been Plymouth’s Co-operative Food Organisation since November 2022, and has since set up 5 food Co-ops in and around Plymouth.  

Plymouth’s food co-ops are tailored towards wider communities’ needs, promoting community action, financial security and independence, and education such as volunteer training. Food co-ops are non-for-profit groups, set up and run by their members, who collectively pool money together to buy food and additional supplies at an overall discounted rate. In Plymouth, co-operatives have supported members’ financial security during the cost-of-living crisis, with members saving up to 40% on their weekly food shop. 

In the words of one Plymouth food co-op member: ‘it’s an opportunity for us to build community, get to know our neighbours and we save at least a third on our food shopping every week.’

Plymouth Environmental Action (PEA) is a practical nature conservation volunteering project, running since 2008, which aims to involve and inspire people to conserve the natural environment within their local community whilst having fun, gaining new skills, getting outside in the fresh air, and making new friends. 

They are working with the housing association ‘Sovereign Network Group’ at one of their residential areas in Plymouth, to offer engaging activities for their senior residents and improve the outside spaces for both people and wildlife. They provide physical activity in an outdoor environment for volunteers, allowing residents who don’t normally spend time in the garden to connect with each other as well as well as benefit from the well-known effects of being outside in green spaces.