river clyde homes

ONE WEEK OF NOMINATIONS LEFT

Roy Steel, the chair of River Clyde Homes and himself an RCH tenant, is urging the community to put forward their nominations for Real Community Heroes as the closing date for entries draws closer.

Roy who has been a member of the RCH board since its inception and has lived in the area all his life knows the value of good Samaritans in the local community.

He said: "People are unaware of the massive difference small acts of kindness can have on other people's lives. Gestures such as collecting an elderly neighbours pension or helping or collecting shopping when people are sick may seem insignificant to the people doing them but they can make a massive difference to the quality of someone else's life.

"Inverclyde has a strong community spirit and the Up Close 'Real Community Heroes' campaign is a fantastic way of recognising the contribution of these people who are essentially being good neighbours.

"We have a strong community here of people taking action when they see that someone needs help. There are thousands of these people within the area and I think they really are the mark of a Real Community Hero."

People are being nominated as Real Community Heroes for everything from providing valuable support to their families when the are ill and volunteering in the area to setting up local community groups and encouraging residents to take part in social activities.

There is still time to enter Your Real Community Hero before the closing date of Friday March 27.

RCH will select six people to be the faces of the Up Close campaign from the nominations received. Each will secure £500 of funding for an Inverclyde community initiative of their choice.

The Real Community Heroes will be officially unveiled in the summer when the Up Close exhibition launches in Oak Mall. Last week Lady Alice primary school got behind the campaign and pupils are now in the process of quizzing their older relatives on everything from what types of house they lived in and what their favourite food was, to how they washed their clothes and what games they played.

The exhibition will collate tales of Inverclyde past, celebrate current successes and inspire people to look with confidence to the future. It also aims to encourage local people to get involved in planning and designing new communities across the area. People will be invited to submit photos, memories, films and artefacts to the Up Close exhibition and website to help build a memory bank of the development of social housing in Inverclyde.

There's still time to nominate your Real Community Hero by filling in the attached form, logging onto www.riverclydehomes.org.uk or collecting a form from River Clyde Homes, libraries, leisure premises or your RCH neighbourhood officer.