The new Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Barbara Murray has been promoting her ‘skills acquisition’-themed fundraising campaign called #ChainReaction in aid of the city’s young people in recent months.
And she has made multiple inspirational and influential connections at events to help bring a difference to so many Liverpool communities.
As head of fundraising Natalie Reeves Billing explained: “The aim of the campaign is to maximise the potential of young people by helping them gain the skills and confidence that comes with that to get better jobs and the best jobs, alleviating poverty in the process.
“In addition, the Lord Mayor has been driving the theme of ‘literacy’ and its importance within the skillset required for young people to perform at their best in their chosen career.”
A shining example of the engagement developed by the Lord Mayor’s fundraising campaign was the visit of the Harmonize Academy in Fairfield to the Town Hall recently.
She said: “The students shared their passion in line with my plea for more youth services vocalising how ‘they offer opportunities to learn, learn about others, ourselves and the world we live in.’
“As they will tell you, vital youth services can give young people the confidence to grow and find themselves.
“It was a very powerful session and fitted seamlessly with what the Lord Mayor is looking to spread awareness of especially amongst the private sector.”
Her fundraising team driven by Natalie Reeves Billing, Alex Cousins, Sue Cronin plus many more are appealing to hundreds of businesses over the Summer months in support of the Lord Mayor’s ambitions.
Many fundraising events are on the horizon with the Lord Mayor’s campaign being supported by the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool and Downtown in Business this Autumn too.
The Lord Mayor has also been pioneering in her role becoming the first in the UK to have her own podcast, made possible by the expertise and generosity of Roy Basnett and Clare Campbell from Podcafe.
The Town Hall has provided an enticing networking platform for meetings with, for example, Professional Liverpool CEO Phil Adams, enabled by Committee co-chair Gary Millar, and James Quinn, director at The HE Academy of Sport and Liverpool Business College.
A visit to the Wellness In The City Liverpool Expo provided an opportunity to meet its founder Clare Ellis, Generative Minds and university students highlighting awareness around AI.
The Lord Mayor has been further strengthening partnerships within education and business, with for example, a visit to Liverpool Hope University’s Childwall campus. This was to address an event driven by the South Liverpool Business Forum engineered by Mark Ord, STEC and Stuart Fitzgerald and network with guests sharing her #ChainReaction Fundraising Campaign’s ambitions.
The Lord Mayor was in her element mixing with Liverpool poet Joseph Roberts and chief of staff ‘Rollo’ as they put on a magnificent show at the Exhibition Centre.
Joseph, founder of All Ears Poetry alongside Rollo, devised the UK’s first ever Poetry Expo attracting huge numbers of guests, many of whom were drawn from the city’s schools. You could see the Lord Mayor was thrilled to be there too as the event captured the very essence of her literacy drive which she has championed for many years.
Details of how people can support the campaign can be found here: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/charity/lord-mayor-of-liverpool.
