Another day, another birthday – this time, a particularly special one. The 100th year of Salford.
After a quiet birthday of my own in the same month, it felt right to make up for it with a big, bold celebration of 100 years of Salford on 21st April.
Part of a Salford CVS wide effort, we wanted to show our gratitude to the many VCSE groups across Salford that contribute to making Salford a great place to live and work. Every place has its challenges, but the vital work of VCSE’s has for 100 years been helping fulfil the needs and wants of Salford residents.
As Active Communities Manager at Salford CVS, involving myself with all things active community participation, I teamed up with Reece, our WorkWell Community Connector, to go out and celebrate the centenary with our VCSE sector.
First up, we knocked on the door of Mustard Tree in Eccles, who do vital work to combat poverty and homelessness in Salford. A trip down memory lane, having donated a sofa to them many moons ago for their community shop.
We had a chat with both back office and reception staff (and volunteers) about the people they work with, the great employability support they’re offering (with a connection made to WorkWell), and the volunteers experience of running the community shop. And as a thank you, we awarded them their certificate from the City Mayor thanking them for all they do. A quick photo of them all behind the till, and we were off again.
Next up, the Yemeni Community Association, to try and catch Amir (having failed to earlier in the day). He is renown across Salford for being highly engaged and doing great work for Salford residents – albeit giving him quite a full calendar.
Trying our best not to interrupt an ESOL class, we managed to catch Amir, and presented him with the certificate. Always the polite host, he offered us a drink, and we chatted about all the great things they run in the Eccles based building, from cooking classes to kids programmes. They’ve also recently got more involved in the Movement agenda through a piece of commissioned work to deliver culturally appropriate women’s only gym sessions, working closely with Salford Community Leisure.
Next, we dropped into the Salford Employment Advice and Mediation Service (SEAMS), on Liverpool Road. We met with Barbara Bentham, who wears quite a few hats. Not only does Barbara run the SEAMS, but she is also a councillor for the Claremont ward and a trustee on our very own Salford CVS board.
Finally, with a little bit of time to spare, we headed over to MS Therapy Centre North West. We happened to be catching the new Operations Manager, Louise Brimelow, working their first week on the job and no doubt slightly startled as we came in to tell her all about the centenary. Louise was kind enough to show us their two incredible oxygen treatment chambers, helping those with multiple sclerosis and other long term health conditions. You wouldn’t believe such amazing facilities are tucked away off the main Liverpool Road in Eccles.
We managed to squeeze in a few photos with the landmarks of Eccles, as well as a trip to the Civic Centre to be part of the celebration (and queue for cake) over lunch.
It was a special day for Salford. Having the honour of being involved in the Salford Centenary Fund means I’ve seen the many excellent forms of celebration that will be taking place over the course of 2026. A bright Tuesday in April was just the beginning.