river clyde homes

River Clyde Homes (RCH) today launched 'Up Close', a ground-breaking community initiative to reflect on Inverclyde's heritage, shape its future and celebrate the area's community spirit.

The campaign launches today, in partnership with the Greenock Telegraph, to find six Real Community Heroes amongst the 16,000 people living in RCH houses.

At this initial stage we are looking for your Real Community Heroes, people who represent the community spirit of Inverclyde (age 16+). They will go on to become the 'faces' of the Up Close campaign and secure £500 of funding for an Inverclyde community initiative of their choice.

We are looking for you to nominate deserving community heroes who are tenants of, or live in, a RCH house.

Your heroes, of all generations, will be people who make a positive impact on the daily lives of others. This could be big-hearted neighbours, people involved in community groups, tireless volunteers who help more vulnerable people or someone who is good Samaritan in your neighbourhood.

As a young organisation, River Clyde Homes is especially keen to hear about young community heroes. The possibilities are endless; we need you to tell us about the great work that is being done by local people in your area. Also, feel free to nominate yourself.

Nomination forms are available in the Greenock Telegraph, from the RCH neighbourhood teams, local libraries, post offices and RCH offices. Or register your nomination online.

Roy Steel, Chair of River Clyde Homes said: "RCH is all about people; the people we house, the people we employ and all the people we engage with. Most importantly, RCH is about how we influence change in people's lives for the better.

"The idea behind 'Up Close' is simple, it is a real opportunity to celebrate and get closer to the people we serve. This campaign is a great way for us to get to know our customers better and gain a greater understanding of their needs and aspirations."

Finding the Real Community Heroes is the first step of the Up Close campaign and will be followed by an exhibition focussing on how people lived in the past and how they want to live in the future.

The Up Close Exhibition is the centre piece of a sustained community initiative involving primary schools, James Watt College, local groups and residents. An education programme is underway to spark the imagination of our younger generations in building a picture of their family's history in the area. Local children will not only learn about how their relatives lived in the past, but be encouraged to define how they want to live here in the future.

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.

The Exhibition will officially launch in the summer when your Real Community Heroes will be unveiled.

Karen Neary, Chief Executive of RCH, said: "While Up Close is community engagement on a grand scale, it has real purpose. Inverclyde is in resurgence, the scale of positive change in the area is unprecedented and we want to encourage local people to record its proud history and share their aspirations for the future.

"Over the next six years RCH will demolish unpopular housing and build more than 1000 new homes, radically changing the Inverclyde skyline. Now is the perfect time to capture Inverclyde, past and present, before the next stage of the area's housing evolution gets underway in earnest with 335 new homes starting on site in the summer."

Deadline for entries is Friday 27 March.