If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire: The GFN Team.
Good For Nothing (GFN) Chester is a passionate bunch of caring, sharing creative volunteers often found working away in the background supporting various community ventures.
Co-founder Holly Nelson recently told an audience at Storyhouse how GFN had helped several projects by coming up with practical solutions following brainstorming sessions they call ‘hacks’.
Holly, who works in marketing, explained: “We started five years ago when a friend came from London and she had been to a similar type event. We felt like there was an appetite in Chester for a group that believed in positive change and being able to accelerate those projects that couldn’t otherwise afford us – to really enhance them and move them forwards.
“So we grew from zero members to now we have about 385 members.”
Holly and co-leader Rhiannon Bevan will always assess the project in advance to ensure it is ethical, sustainable and is 'going to make Chester better’.
The group, who have access to a panel of experts, will often tackle a question or challenge facing an organisation by coming up with plans, suggestions and solutions.
It’s an ideas machine rather than carrying out specific tasks like, for example, designing a website.
Holly, 34, continued: “What we do is we get together and we ‘hack’ - it’s an event and can be a four hour hack or it can be a 24 hour hack.
“It’s intensive time focused together in a room with a big collective of different people with different skill sets and we tackle a community issue or a community project that we’ve heard about or that have approached us for some help.”
Projects have included the ongoing supertrees bio-diversity project at the Mecca bingo roundabout where 27 members considered the different elements that should be included in a hack estimated to be worth around £15,000 in donated time.
Storyhouse – while under construction – approached the group asking how they could make the venue the most accessible space it could be for everybody which involved a 24-hour hack.
Bridge Community Farms at Ellesmere Port wanted help with how to support the unemployed back into work.
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Ludicology comprised a group of school teachers with a big ambition to leave their day jobs and set up an organisation promoting children’s learning through play.
Chester MP Chris Matheson and Cllr Richard Beacham approached the group after independent restaurants raised concerns about being squeezed out by the chains. The result was the Hunger Games website – a Russian roulette style game featuring participating eateries – if a player lands on a particular venue they are entitled to an offer.
During an initial two week period there were 14,000 spins and 2,000 unique users with plans for it to be rolled out again this summer.
Cheshire West and Chester Council recently asked Good For Nothing if it could run a survey to gather views that would help inform emerging designs for the Northgate Development.
And the audience learned there were plans to work with Una Meehan, from the University of Chester, to establish a sub-group of GFN to engage with younger members of the community.
Aside from hacks, GFN holds regular socials where members can make connections in a relaxed environment or just go along to find out what they’re all about. Commonhall St Social kindly lets the group use its loft area for free.
There’s always an interesting speaker or two with plenty of time for everyone to pitch in. The next social is on Thursday, April 18, from 6.30pm. To register and for more information about GFN, visit the website or @GFNChester on Twitter.
Use the hashtag #makechester on Twitter as way of sharing creative ideas.
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