Community News

With payday around the corner for much of the country, almost 10 million workers (33 per cent) will be worrying about whether they have enough money to last until they are paid, according to new research from Post Office Money Current Accounts.

People will have the chance to view and have their say on the final shortlisted designs in an innovative competition to redesign one of Birmingham’s largest public spaces which are on display this week.

Yorkshire Building Society colleagues will be brewing up en masse in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record cream tea party in aid of Marie Curie.

Broadcaster and Cure Leukaemia Patron, Adrian Chiles, will be heading to Brindleyplace next week (Saturday 30 May) to cheer on Deutsche Bank, KPMG, Barclays, Network Rail, Matalan and other local businesses as they take part in the estate’s annual Dragonboat Festival.

Birmingham once again plays host to the UK’s biggest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) festival this bank holiday weekend (May 23 and 24). Now in its 19^th successive year, the theme of this year’s Birmingham Pride will be ‘#FREEDOM – Together United’, inspired by the 2014 film ‘Pride’, which tells the story of how gay activists supported miners who went on strike in 1984.

One in four Britons (26%) has made a donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Nepal Earthquake Appeal in the two weeks since it launched, according to new research published by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

The average parent will spend an extra £166 in an attempt to entertain their children during half term according to a new study. 63 per cent will fork out the money for extra food, while 26 per cent will feel pressured to pay for their children to take part in expensive activities such as holiday camps or childcare.

Following the success of the recent Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Annual Dinner and Awards which raised £8,171 for Cure Leukaemia, Chamber President Greg Lowson is in training to cycle ‘London 2 Paris: Inspiring the Revolution’ to raise even more funds for the charity he has chosen to support during his year in office.

In a first for one of Birmingham's most popular annual fundraising events, the 2015 Brindleyplace Dragonboat Festival will feature a giant screen, which will broadcast live race action and raise funds for the day's chosen charity.

Work has started to prepare two popular paddling pools in Wolverhampton for the summer season, and they are expected to open in time for the late May Bank Holiday.

Free fun family events from story-telling to Xbox gaming are lined up this half-term at Sandwell’s libraries. Libraries across the borough will be showing films, staging PS4 gaming sessions as well as running craft and story-telling sessions.

A woman who survived the Nepal earthquake, gave birth to a healthy baby boy just days after she dug herself out of the rubble of her collapsed home. Dolma Tamang gave birth just two weeks after digging herself out from under a pile of earthquake.

Fiona Reid, a mother of two from Aston in Birmingham was killed in a horrific fireball while on holiday in Jamaica when the car she was in hit a truck head on. Her devastated father Kevin has revealed that because of a lack of Holiday Insurance, he now faces costs that will cripple him in order to bring her body back to her hometown.

Following from the verdict of the Kingsley Burrell inquest, Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said, "First and foremost my thoughts today are with the family and friends of Kingsley Burrell. I offer my condolences to them."

The Phoenix Newspaper is proud to formally announce the Award Categories for 2015.  Your nominations will shape these awards, so please send your nominations in - details below!

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Lifetime Achievement Award

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Best Radio DJ/ Presenter 2015

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Best Place of Worship 2015

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Charity of the Year 2015

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Community Outreach/Volunteer Award 2015

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Special Achievement Award 2015

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Business & Enterprise Award 2015

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Sports Achiever 2015

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Best Eatery 2015

The Phoenix Newspaper
Beauty & Lifestyle Award 2015
in association with Fabulosayou

We need YOU to nominate people, groups, organisations and businesses that you think deserve these awards.

Email your nominations through to
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stating clearly the name, address and contact
number of the nominee, as well as which category you are nominating them for, and why.

Today, Saturday May 16, sees participants from around the country gather at Birmingham's Bullring, to mark National Good Gestures Day 2015.