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Community Resource is a charity that is committed to making life better for people and communities facing challenges in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin.

Our vision is for a county full of strong, local communities where everyone gets the support they need.

Our mission is to enable people to enjoy a good quality of life and empower people to help their communities thrive.

ACRE network

We are one of 38 charitable local development agencies that make up the ACRE network. Our national body ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) speaks up for rural communities on the national stage and delivers projects that enable our communities to find innovative solutions to the challenges they face.

 

 

We deliver our work across three main areas:

Health and Wellbeing
We support people to stay active and connected to their communities and to maintain their health and independence so they live life to the full. We do this through a range of community-based projects with the help of a team of local and committed volunteers.

Community and Support
We work with voluntary groups so they can help meet the need in their local area and support rural communities to access competitive heating prices through our Oil Buying Club.

Funding and Advice

We connect people who care with causes that need their help through our community fund, offer guidance to households to help them save energy and keep warm and provide advice to local meeting places and groups through our membership scheme.

 

 

 

Our Strategy

We are a resource to the community in many different forms, adapting and shaping our work to help meet the needs of those living in this county and deliver our mission of enabling people to enjoy a good quality of life and empower people to help their communities thrive.

Our 2023 – 28 strategy lays out our plans on how we can do this to the best of our ability over the next five years.

 

 

Our History

Community Resource is part of a national network of similar organisations with a long and proud history of supporting rural communities throughout England.

The first organisation of this kind was set up in Oxfordshire in 1920, in the days before the Welfare State operated. A booming economy led to a migration of agricultural workers and younger people to the cities in favour of better-paid factory work, and rural social life went into decline.

Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (RCC) provided support with projects around community cohesion, education, retraining and rehabilitation. On the strength of its success, a number of RCCs were established.

Community Resource held its inaugural meeting 4 November 1960 with the aim of bringing people in communities together and finding practical solutions to rural problems – functions we still carry out today.

 

 

Our leadership team

Bev Baxter, CEO

Bev has a history of working with young people and communities in a variety of spaces, working in Wolverhampton for a children and young people’s charity prior to joining Community Resource.

 

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Sue Homden, Head of Finance

Sue joined Community Resource in 2002 and works as Head of Finance, with other responsibilities including premises management, Health and Safety and IT.

 

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Alli Richardson, Head of Service (Infrastructure and Rural Services)

This is Allison’s second time working for Community Resource! She came back to the organisation after a nine-year break where she was a regional service delivery manager at Guide Dogs for the Blind.

 

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Lynn Crawley, Chief Officer Healthwatch Shropshire

Lynn has worked at Healthwatch Shropshire for 10 years and is passionate about bringing the voice of the people of Shropshire to those running health and social care services to help them to identify what is working well, where the gaps are and where things can be improved.

 

 

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Hanna Clarke, Head of Fundraising and Communications

Hanna brings a wealth of experience in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and communications across the charity and public sectors. Hanna is passionate about connecting communities and creating sustainable support for vital local services. 

 

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Our trustees

Warren James CB CBE DL - Chair

Warren joined Community Resource as a Trustee in July 2024 and became Chair in October 2024.

 

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Amy Bould

Amy is an experienced strategic communications consultant, advising public and private sector organisations on market engagement; stakeholder relations; marketing communications & public relations.

 

 

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Simon Broad

Simon joined the BBC as a trainee studio manager direct from music college and worked in radio production and new service development before moving into the Academy.

 

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Nicky Cooper

Nicky studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University and is a Chartered Public Finance Accountant.

 

 

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Rachel Henley

Rachel has been involved in community development and funding throughout her working career.

 

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Meredith Vivian OBE

Meredith has held senior roles in publishing, advocacy, and the Department of Health, where he led national work to involve patients and the public in NHS decisions. He was awarded an OBE in 2006 for this contribution.

 

 

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Lindsay Pearson

Lindsay is an experienced relationship banker that has worked in a number of management and leadership roles throughout her career.

 

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Mark Thorn

Mark was a Director of Marches Care Limited, an independent nursing and dementia care business employing 140 staff and supporting 81 older people with challenging life conditions.

 

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