IVCO 2024 Think Piece 'Building and Sustaining Connections for Change: Volunteering for Solidarity in Gateshead'

This think piece is part of the materials produced in advance of the 2024 International Volunteer Cooperation Organisations Conference (IVCO 2024), hosted by Northumbria University in partnership with Comhlámh. It is available in English, Spanish and French. The think piece “Building and Sustaining Connections for Change: Volunteering for Solidarity in Gateshead” is written by Christine Frazer, Gateshead Community Bridgebuilder working at Bensham Grove Community Centre in the North East of England. In this piece she explores the complexities of relational work by looking at initiatives in the town of Gateshead, neighbouring Newcastle, and the changes she has seen in a community empowered to make their own decisions and change their own lives. The piece emphasises the importance of embracing challenges as opportunities for creative change, reimagining volunteering at a community level and fostering meaningful connections for solidarity and local development.