Grassroots engagement in Ealing

MP Virendra Sharma with Claire Sully (pic by Dinesh Kargathra)

I’ve just spent a sunny Sunday delivering a talk on charity online engagement at an innovative charity fayre organised by Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma.

The event brought together a wide group of charities from his constituency – from Age Concern and Friends of the Earth to real grass-roots organisations operating in this culturally diverse area of London.

The fayre is the start of an ongoing initiative to bring together the more than 185 local charities to share knowledge and work together to make real improvements in the area.

Mr Sharma invited me to the event to talk about what we call the “digital gamechanger” – how the use of digital technology has ripped up the rule book for the way charities and community organisations engage with their supporters and each other.

The web – like this event – is all about communities of shared interest, and digital technology is the most effective tool empowering organisations to share.

It was great to see a real grassroots inititive like this taking shape, and we will be following its development closely over the coming months.