Last Sunday I
attended the Harlow Town Show where I met hundreds of local
residents who had come out on a sunny afternoon to celebrate all
that is best about Harlow.
People from
outside Harlow have a tendency to knock our town. Sunday’s show was
the perfect response to that. How many town’s of Harlow’s size
would put on such a great event, involving such a wide range of
organisations from the community?
The Show is an
annual flagship event and this year it was particularly special
because it’s the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
New Town. What made the day was the huge array of voluntary and
community organisations that came together to promote their work in
the town. The marquees were full of displays for local
organisations, charities, and businesses.
It’s widely
accepted that civic activity is on the decline across the country.
Fewer people get involved in voluntary, social and community
activities than they did in the past in part due to the pressures
of work, commuting, and family life.
Yet in Harlow we
have a vibrant and active community base.We’ve got all the major
charities and campaign groups like the Alzheimer’s Society, MIND,
Amnesty International, and Age Concern. We’ve got “Friends” groups
associated with local health centres, the Playhouse, the Museum and
the Advice Centre. The number of Residents Associations is growing,
with support from the Council. Environmental organisations like
ECCO are thriving and the new voluntary sector forum is growing
under the umbrella of Rainbow Services.
As the MP I work
with many of these organisations week in week out. Sometimes they
want me to be a Patron, using my position to help influence other
organisations; sometimes they want me to sponsor lottery
applications for them; at other times they want more direct help to
bring local partners together perhaps to secure new premises, or
open up new avenues of financial support or just promote their work
through positive publicity.
The displays at
the Town Show were testimony to their hard work throughout the year
and to the great service they provide for local residents. As the
town’s MP I’m proud that, from time to time, I’m able to play my
part in helping to support them.
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