Stepping Up for Coventry: From Adversity to Collective Power

Across Coventry, everyday people are stepping up to shape the future of their communities and Connecting For Good (CFG) is at the heart of making that possible.

For many, that journey begins with personal experiences of challenge, injustice, or feeling that decisions are being made without their voices being heard.

Emmanuelle, a member of CFG’s Core Team, shares his story of stepping up after experiencing decisions that affected his life personally. Searching for support led him to Grapevine and the wider CFG network, where he discovered something powerful: when people come together, share their experiences and organise collectively, real change becomes possible.

In this blog, Emmanuelle shares why stepping up matters, why shaping Coventry’s future is important to him and how CFG helps ordinary people discover the power they hold when they come together, using Community Organising as the tool to drive lasting change.

What made you step up?

After being on the receiving end of society's adverse decisions on things that affect you personally, I found that I had to reach out to the community and try to find some support. I found some support at Grapevine. After going on that journey, I realised the power of community organising.

What do you think needs to change?

The general condition in my community and citywide, where citizens are looking for different ways to do things to stop suffering, basically, whether that'd be personal, financial, emotional, or spiritual. It's like everywhere I look, there is somebody in need or somebody who wants something to change. So it feels more so than ever that it's time to make that change.

Why does shaping Coventry matter to you?

It's because it's where I live. The number of times I've left and then come back, I've realised actually it's got quite a special energy in it and there's a lot of hidden power and special gifts in the city. And then the more we come together and combine and shape that, we can keep the history of... play a homage to the legacy of Coventry being the city of trailblazers, changemakers, who are quite rebellious in their ways but are effective at making change.

What does stepping up mean to you?

It means every day, Coventry people understand that we all hold a bit of power, and that if I can step and display that power, then maybe another person can see and maybe think, 'if he can do it, I can do it'.

What makes the Core team powerful?

The fact that there's a group of people who are guided by community organisers to represent the possibility of change in the city, and who are putting that time consistently aside monthly to come together and do that valuable work to provide an ecosystem in Coventry.

If someone is thinking about joining, what would you say to them?

Come and join people just like you. We may be further along in the journey, but we all recognise and understand where it begins and that's in the face of adversity.

STEP UP. SPEAK OUT. SHAPE COV. JOIN THE CFG CORE TEAM

Stepping up is about everyday Coventry people recognising the power they hold and coming together to create real change. Emmanuelle’s story is a leadership journey through joining the CFG Core Team, showing that when we act collectively, we can build a stronger, more connected city.

If you’re curious about joining the Core Team and taking your own leadership journey with CFG fill in the Expression of Interest form today.

👉 Fill in the form here and start your journey with CFG.