The Burngreave Messenger was first published in July 1999 to serve the Burngreave area of Sheffield. The newspaper was started by local people on an entirely voluntary basis and everyone involved was ‘determined that it should both be the property of local people and reflect their views’. We did it because:
Our area has been neglected; the Messenger wants to give people, who have been ignored, a voice and give them a greater say in what happens in our area.
We believe that together we are stronger – our community has a higher risk of being divided because of our varied backgrounds. The Messenger can help bring us together, and can make our voice louder and more powerful.
Our area has had a bad press (because poverty, crime, ill-health and poor housing are issues in the area) and people in Sheffield have a poor opinion of Burngreave and the people who live here. We know that this is a good place to live, that good people live here and great things happen. The Messenger wants to celebrate this, change opinions, and develop pride within the community for where we live.
There's a lot happening in our area – we want to make sure residents can be involved, enjoy local activities and access services and support.
After two black and white issues in 1999, we received funding from BNDFC (Burngreave New Deal for Communities) to produce part-colour issues for ten months of the year. From 2007 we reduced the number of issues to six per year, to focus more on supporting residents to be involved in the production of the newspaper and work on the long term sustainability of the newspaper.
The drive towards volunteer support and involvement helped to develop our activities in line with our core purpose of building capacity in the community. We now:
Deliver informal training in writing and website management to develop residents skills
Provide more volunteering opportunities for residents to gain experience that builds skills and confidence
Support residents to solve problems in our community
In July 2009 the Burngreave Messenger became a registered charity. Our charitable purpose is to build the capacity of Burngreave residents through the production of the Messenger newspaper and website.
We aim to:
To increase awareness of services and opportunities available to Burngreave residents
To increase involvement by Burngreave residents in local groups and community activities
To increase confidence and pride in the Burngreave community
To enable greater participation in the Messenger project by Burngreave residents who might find it difficult to be involved
To increase the capacity of Burngreave residents to identify and address problems in their community
To increase understanding between different sections of the community
The Burngreave Messenger has been supported by a range of funders including the Tudor Trust, the Big Lottery Fund, Burngreave New Deal for Communities, Comic Relief, The Town Trust, Sheffield City Council, through the Area Panel and North East Community Assembly, and Neighbourhood Learning in Deprived Communities.
The Burngreave Messenger is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, run by residents of the Burngreave area.
If you would like to know more about the Burngreave Messenger or get involved please contact us:
The Burngreave Messenger Ltd, Abbeyfield Park House, Abbeyfield Road, Sheffield, S4 7AT
Tel: 0114 2420564
Email: mail@burngreavemessenger.org <mail@burngreavemessenger.org>