On Friday 20th February 2015, 400 Greater Mancunians gathered at the world class Midland Hotel in the centre of Manchester to celebrate 25 years of Forever Manchester.

It was, and if you were there I hope you

agree, a fantastic night, filled with passion,

laughter and tears, just like all the best

birthday parties you’ve ever been to.

Now at the risk of sounding blindingly obvious,

and a bit like Swiss Tony, a birthday party

is a celebration of the anniversary of the

birth of the person who is being honoured,

and so, in the build up to the event as I was

preparing a few words of welcome for our

guests, I started thinking about Forever

Manchester as a person. A person with 25

years of experience, with stories to tell and

a whole life ahead of them. And you know,

dear friends, with these thoughts in mind I

came to think that Forever Manchester is, in

many ways, like a beautiful woman.

She is compassionate, caring and kind.

She is passionate, thoughtful, modern and

original. She is Forever Manchester and she

likes a party and boy did she enjoy this one.

With so many of our friends and supporters

in the room, the event was buzzing from

start to finish and with guests from all

different walks of life represented, it felt

like a thriving community in its own right.

People from community projects locked

in conversation with representatives from

some of the world’s leading global brands

and Manchester’s finest businesses, young

people chatting with older people, amazing

performances from the unsung heroes in

our community, MAD Theatre Company and

the Autistic Superstars and united emotions

throughout the evening culminating in a

thrilling performance of Silver Sparks, our

25th Anniversary poem; a poem crafted and

delivered by our masterful poet in residence

Tony Walsh in honour of our beautiful

birthday girl.

And throughout the evening Forever

Manchester’s words and thoughts rang out

through the room; her belief in the unlimited

potential of ordinary people, her belief that

everyone has skills talents and assets and

the recognition that this is the place where

we all live, work and play, that there is no

us and them, only us.

And so, with huge thanks to the brilliant

businesses who helped fund the evening

and to the incredible team of staff and

volunteers who helped run the evening,

we raised a glass to the birthday girl.

She is Forever Manchester, and just like us

she was born here, raised here, educated

here, she has partied here, she loves the

music, the football, the culture, the history,

the rain and most of all she loves the people.

Happy Birthday Forever Manchester!

Twitter @MasseyManc

march 2015

FOREVER MANCHESTER'S FANZINE FOR PEOPLE WITH A PASSION FOR GREATER MANCHESTER

A big fat thanks to our birthday sponsors

manchester arena are FM

£38,000 raised celebrating 25 years of fm

forever manchester award winners

moston and harpurhey

IN THIS ISSUE

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FOREVERMANCHESTER.COM

NICK MASSEY-CHIEF EXEC

Metronet – Headline SponsorHavas Lynx – Photobooth SponsorKyocera – Programme SponsorThe Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social

Sciencese at Manchester Met – Ticketing Sponsor

Brooks MacDonald – Fundraiser of the Year Award Sponsor

CDL – Inspirational Community Group Award Sponsor

Vista Employer Services Ltd. – Captain Manchester

Award SponsorWeber Shandwick – Corporate Supporter of the

Year SponsorKellogg’s – Lifetime Achievement Award 2015 Sponsor

Beever and Struthers – Twitter Wall Sponsor

Voicescape – Compere (Archie Kelly) Sponsor

Online Ventures Group – Audio/Visual Sponsor

Motion Digital – Event Video SponsorEventbrite – Online Ticketing Service Provider

Giraffe Event Solutions – Centre Piece creators

and helpers on the dayBow So Sweet – Creator of our fantastic birthday cake

Hard Rock Cafe – For donating two raffle prizes

and allowing Jack Barton to be Captain Manchester

The Midland Hotel – For incredible service throughout the

night and great customer service in the build up to the event

Drumbeat Creative – Designers of all of our Marketing tools

such as the programme, tickets, presentation and more

Drop Dead Chocolates – Donators of the chocolates, which

accompanied the coffees on the night and a raffle prize

Attending the silver anniversary party of Forever Manchester at The Midland Hotel, the

famous first meeting place of Mr

Rolls and Mr Royce, it was also the place where Forever Manchester chose to bring toget

her its constituent parts in terms of

supporters, beneficiaries and other important partnerships to celebrate.

Looking around the room on the night, it struck me what a force of people support this c

harity. For them, it's the cause, not the

applause, that counts. Unconditionally giving their time, their money, their skills and e

nergy to change outcomes for others,

here on their doorstep in Greater Manchester.

Sitting among a table of my colleagues from Brother UK, people who are pivotal in bring

ing to life our relationship with the

charity aligned to our citizenship philosophy, they see what I see, we do our bit and imp

rove those around us, we improve in the

long term as a business and as a work community. It makes total sense for any business

who values people.

Resident poet, Tony Walsh recited his 'Silver Sparks' poem about Forever Manchester,

its people, history and potential.

I could see tears rolling down the faces of some of the most active supporters and Amba

ssadors. In that moment the enormity of

the impact the charity has made in its 25 years came vibrantly to life.

They all knew what those words meant. They are the people. The businesses. The individua

ls. The Ambassadors. The Donors.

The Sponsors. The Fundraisers. The community called Greater Manchester.

They are the enlightened people and organisations that have already RESET their clocks

in readiness for the next 25 years,

which promises to be a golden time for Forever Manchester and the communities it serves

.

Would you like you to be one of those people too? Engaging with us is easy, we make giv

ing easy and more importantly, you can

see with your own eyes what a difference you can make by visiting some of the amazing p

rojects that get supported.

Take some action. Call us. Write to Us. Tweet Us. We'll be in touch.

Telephone: 0161 214 0940

Twitter: @4EVERManchester

Email: marketing@forevermanchester.com

For many, silver signifies second, for Forever Manchester it was a first.

Reaching the important milestone of 25 years since its foundation.

Forever Manchester would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of the

sponsors at our 25th Birthday held at The Midland Hotel on 20th February.

If you were there, you’ll know we really moved mountains to create an incredible night which involved our

supporters, corporate partners, community groups we funded, staff, volunteers, Ambassadors and everyone else

in between.

We had some excellent raffle prizes on offer and would like to thank the many hotels, restaurants

and businesses who donated prizes to us.

Huge thanks goes to the following companies, who supported and sponsored our 25th birthday

and helped it to make it the success that it was:

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In 2015, Manchester Arena are celebrating their 20th Birthday, and they have chosen Forever Manchester as one of their Charities of the Year. The Arena have offered us many perks as their Charity of the Year for 2015, including the opportunity to collect at the Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Take That and Simply Red gigs this year, which will hopefully bring in a great income.

Our branding is also visible throughout the Arena, using their hashtag #WeAreManchester, which fits perfectly with our ethos and what we’re about. It’s a great privilege to be chosen by Manchester Arena in their 20th anniversary year and we hope to raise some great funds with this opportunity.

As part of this commitment, the Arena offered 100 tickets for The X Factor Live Tour for us to award to community groups across Greater Manchester.

We were pleased to award tickets to pupils who took part in our Cool 2 B Kind programme delivered in primary schools in Oldham by our Community Builders.

The tickets were awarded in assemblies to the pupils with the most improved behaviour since the Cool 2 B Kind programme ended.

Teachers at Alt Primary School and Stoneleigh Academy in Oldham surprised pupils with the tickets for themselves and an adult to take them to Manchester Arena on Friday 20th February.

As well as these schools, tickets were awarded to a number of community groups across Greater Manchester to celebrate their involvement in their communities and reward them.

The groups were all given their own section in the Arena taking up a whole chunk of it and had a ball.

Forever Manchester is thankful to Manchester Arena for allowing us to gift these tickets to the people in our communities that support people in their areas who want to do extraordinary things together.

The kind donation of these tickets allowed these individuals to have a great night and let their hair down.

We’re looking forward to the year ahead and hope this relationship will be the start of great things with Manchester Arena.

Manchester Arena donated 100 tickets for us to give to the

stand out stars we’ve met in the communities across Greater

Manchester to attend The X Factor Live Tour with friends

and family on Friday 20th February.

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A great night was had by every individual in the

room, which included a variety of our supporters,

community groups, volunteers, staff and Mr Captain

Manchester himself made a return, getting papped

with most of our attendees and helping our

compere, Archie Kelly.

Guests were greeted on arrival with a glass of

champagne and a great performance from Affinity

Show Choir, who were singing Mancunian anthems

to get our supporters in the spirit of the evening.

The night then opened with a brilliantly passionate

and emotional speech from Chief Exec, Nick Massey,

who spoke about Forever Manchester’s journey and

what “she” meant to him (yep – Forever Manchester

has been Christened a lady by Mr Massey).

Nearly 400 proud Forever Manchester supporters

turned up on the night, enjoying a Greater Manchester

themed three-course meal and entertainment from

local talent MaD Theatre Company and Autistic

Superstars Carly Ryan and Martin Finn.

After their performance at our 25th Birthday, MaD

Theatre Company are kindly donating £1 from each

ticket sold for their latest production, ‘Gin and

Chronic Arthritis’ at Bury Met on 24th and 25th June.

A video, brilliantly put together by Tunafish Media

got the entertainment going. The video really

illustrated our key messages and what we’re all

about here at Forever Manchester, which is the

people. This can be seen at forevermanchester.com

If you haven’t already seen this, we’d strongly

recommend it, it really outlines why we do what we

do every single day.

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Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll know that Friday

20th February was our 25th birthday celebration at The Midland

Hotel in Manchester.

Our Poet in Residence, Tony Walsh closed the on-stage entertainment with a great rendition of ‘Silver Sparks’, a poem he wrote for us in celebration of our 25th year. His performance was finished with a great display of glitter across the room, which can be seen behind this article. The glitter and confetti fired out of the cannons illustrated the ‘silver sparks’ that flow through Manchester, and the work that Forever Manchester does.

Our Twitter feed exploded during and after Tony’s performance, which brought people to tears with the passion and pride that was felt for Greater Manchester and Forever Manchester’s work in the region.

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Tweets included:

Paul Yates, Founder of OVG, sponsors of the AV on the

night: “Thank you Forever Manchester, possibly the

best night I have had in years. Exceptional is all I can

say, honoured to be part of something so great”

Challenge4Change, a community group we support:

“Thanks to Forever Manchester for a great night

last night and for their ongoing support of

Challenge4Change. Happy Birthday.”

Forever Manchester Ambassador, Michael Henderson:

“Awesome evening Forever Manchester. 25 years

and still looking awesome!”

Archie Kelly, Compere of the evening and Phoenix

Nights’ Kenny Dalglish Snr. “A huge thank you to

Forever Manchester for inviting me to the

wonderful 25th birthday bash. Lovely people.

Keep up the good work.”

Autistic Superstar, Carly Ryan also brought both men and women to tears with her fabulous rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ on the evening.

Our raffle and silent auction alone brought in over £2,000, with a signed Manchester United and Manchester City shirt on offer as well as Mike Joyce of The Smith’s drumsticks and other great Mancunian prizes.As well as this, an excellent DJ set from Dave Haslam of Hacienda fame closed the evening, playing a great eclectic mix of tunes to get everyone on the dancefloor.Our compere, Archie Kelly aka Kenny Dalglish Snr. had the room in fits of laughter throughout the evening with his Northern wit and brilliant presence on the stage.

We also had an awards ceremony, recognising individuals, groups and businesses for the hard work they do to keep Forever Manchester going. See page 6.

Nick Massey, Chief Exec said: “I am very proud of our team and thankful to everyone who helped to make our 25th birthday the great success it was. We all worked hard to celebrate what Forever Manchester is all about. “Forever Manchester is all about the people of this great city and I think we illustrated that on the night. It was a real celebration that I enjoyed and I think everyone else did. The whole Forever Manchester team was there to celebrate a culmination of 25 years of hard work to get us to where we are today.”A great night was had by all on the night and we’d like to thank everyone involved, whether you attended, or helped to make the night the success it was, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our Silver Anniversary so special. It was a real honour to be involved.In total, the night raised an incredible £38,000. Every penny will be invested back into communities across Greater Manchester. These areas will be the communities that each and every one of you work, play or live, which we are over the moon about.

If you were papped by our photographer or our photobooth on the night head to facebook.com/ForeverManchester to have a nosey (or laugh) at them to bring back some great memories.

Due to the phenomenal success of our 25th birthday, we’re already planning one for next year, so keep your eyes peeled, as it’s sure to be another sell out!

Here’s to the next 25 years!

Our 25th birthday on 20th February saw a great

awards ceremony, which celebrated and recognised

the people who help us to continue our work year

on year. Five awards were given out on the night.

We were pleased to award the following gongs

to these supporters:

Fundraiser of the Year sponsored by Brooks MacDonald

Andrew Trott-Barn is a Forever Manchester Ambassador and the

creator of Forever Manchester’s biggest event, The Mirror Ball. As

well as this Andrew has started its sister event, the Halloween

Spooktacular. Together these events raised £73,065 in 2014

alone, with 2015’s Mirror Ball coming up this month, selling out

six months in advance.

Inspirational Community Group Award sponsored by CDL

Fix It UK, works with 14-25 year olds in the Wigan area.

Their aim is to improve the life chances, career choices and

opportunities of young people who prefer to learn by doing

things. They offer life skills and car mechanic training, eventually

giving them a Motor Industry recognised qualification.

Captain Manchester Award sponsored by Vista Employer

Services Ltd. Dave Foran is a Forever Manchester Ambassador who, in 2014

created the Forever Manchester beer. Dave set up Manchester

Radio Online, a radio station established to provide a platform

for ordinary people to host their own radio shows, which at the

same time offers help and support. Dave has also been involved

in key events with Forever Manchester including bringing Captain

Manchester to life, launching the Backwards Run and helping at

the charity auction at the Corn Exchange last year.

Corporate Supporter of the Year Award sponsored by

Weber Shandwick CDL supported Forever Manchester in various ways throughout

2014. They are a Manchester Million supporter, sponsored the

Inspirational Community Group Award at our 25th birthday,

took part in Caketober and they also have a fund with Forever

Manchester to support community groups in Stockport.

Forever Manchester’s Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored

by Kellogg’s Harry Alldritt from Middleton has been involved with Forever

Manchester for over a decade and been an active volunteer in his

local community for far longer making him something of a local

celebrity.

As well as doing a lot for his community, he still goes out of his

way to support us, here at Forever Manchester.

He has also helped Forever Manchester to move offices on more

than one occasion. Harry lives and breathes his community, his

passion is simply meeting new people and helping others. He

spends approximately 50 hours a week voluntarily helping his

local community.6

Moston and Harpurhey are one of fourteen

communities across the UK that have

been selected to receive a minimum of

£200,000 in funding over three years

to increase community participation and

improve wellbeing.

Fourteen is a £3.5m programme funded by Spirit of 2012,

a charity set up by the Big Lottery Fund to connect events

to communities across the country. Events such as Glasgow

2014 and London 2012 are remarkable in their ability to

bring people together: inspiring pride through the power

of participation.

The investment into Moston and Harpurhey will be delivered

and managed by Forever Manchester.

Together with Spirit of 2012, Forever Manchester will create

a legacy, which will improve wellbeing and happiness.

Residents of Moston and Harpurhey will decide how the

£200,000 community investment will be spent.

Fourteen is community led and each community will decide

themselves how they want to increase participation in one or

more of the following activities:

• Social action and volunteering

• Grass roots sport and physical activity

• Culture activity and the arts

• Youth leadership and personal development

Our Community Builders are going out into the communities this

month to speak with the residents of Moston and Harpurhey to

begin putting together and identifying people who can join the Local

Reference Group – this group will help to focus priorities and grant-

making for the local area within the terms of the Fourteen programme.

The Local Reference Group will meet with our team on a regular basis

(3-4 times a year) until the end of this programme in December 2017,

and will support Forever Manchester with funding decisions in the

context of the Community Plan in place for Fourteen.

For further information about the Fourteen programme in Moston

and Harpurhey, please contact our office on 0161 214 0940.

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MOsTOn

HarpUrHey

Registered Charity No. 1017504 Designed by TRANSMISSION www.transmissioncreative.co.uk

Visit: www.forevermanchester.com Call: 0161 214 0940Email: info@forevermanchester.com

@4EVERManchester forevermanchesterForever Manchester

GET IN TOUCH

LIVE AT 2PM EVERY WEDNESDAY at www.ldok.net

Tune into the 2 hour online radio show dedicated to everything Forever Manchester.

The show is hosted by Terry Day who has been around the world of radio, music and general entertainment for Yonks! Each week Terry is joined by a special guest Forever Manchester supporter. Expect lots of chat, laughs and Manchester tunes.

The live show is broadcast every Wednesday between 2pm and 4pm and is repeated on Sunday’s at 2pm and Tuesday’s at 7pm.

Tune into at www.ldok.net Prestwich Beer Festival, a 3-day event for beer and foodie lovers alike, have chosen Forever Manchester as their charity partner.

Held at The Longfield Suite in The Longfield Centre Thursday 26th-Saturday 28th March, the festival will also be selling our buzzing honey beer! For more information head to forevermanchester.com/beerfestival

Forever Manchester are offering discounted

charity places for the 2015 Great Manchester

10K Run to be held on Sunday 10th May.

If you would like ‘Run for Round’ere’ and raise

money for Forever Manchester to help to support

community projects across Greater Manchester,

sign up now before our discounted places fill up.

We are currently offering a discounted sign-up

fee of £25.

(Standard fee is £38 if booked directly on the

Great Run website)

Captain Manchester’s Cool Runnings Award

is also up for grabs to the business that raises

the most cash. For information on this, head to

forevermanchester.com/10k-competition

Last year over 100 runners helped to raise over

£10,000 for Forever Manchester and this year

we hope to raise even more. If you want to be

one of the runners that helps us do this, head to

forevermanchester.com/manchester10k

Please note: By registering with our discounted

rate you are committing to raise a minimum of

£150 in sponsorship.

There will be a full 18 holes of golf on the day with corporate supporters and general donors who support our work teeing against one another.

If you are interested in signing up a team head to forevermanchester.com/golfday to sign up.

#HardrockrisingHard Rock Cafe are hosting the North West region's #HardRockRising and will be supporting us. Chief Exec Nick Massey will be a guest judge.

For the fifth straight year, Hard Rock continues its commitment to aspiring musicians by holding a worldwide search for talented bands to showcase on its international stage.

Every Thursday in March from 8pm sees three heats and then a Regional Finale.