Rising Stars is a training programme co-designed by Made in Manningham and Sarah Spanton’s Waymarking. We developed this course to help local women explore their business ideas, build confidence and to discover what community businesses are.
The sessions included a variety of fun and engaging activities which focused on teamwork, connecting with local community spaces and identifying ways in which the group could work together to help the community in Manningham.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and all learning was moved online. We continued the sessions weekly via Zoom and the group had the opportunity to hear from Co-ops UK about how Cooperatives support communities all over the country.
By the end of the training programme, the ladies involved expressed that they felt more confident in their ideas and understood more about community businesses.
Since the final meeting in March, the Rising Stars keep in touch on Whatsapp and some have met in Lister Park for wellbeing walks. The Rising Stars still continue to get involved in Made In Manningham’s markets and other community events.