Jo Cox was an MP who was sadly murdered on the 16th June 2016 in her constituency doing the work she loved, as an MP committed to helping the public.

To mark the anniversary of the death of Jo Cox MP, the Jo Cox foundation were asking communities to set up events (16th -; 18th June) where residents had a chance to enjoy being together and celebrate what they have in common in our communities rather than what divides us.

The Foundation exists to guide people towards those who are working on the things Jo was passionate about. People who know that it is not enough just to talk about what can make communities stronger or to complain about injustice, indifference or cruelty.

With this in mind, I hosted a ‘community bake off’ competition in Bilston Town Hall where local residents, schools, community groups and places of worship all came together to celebrate what we have in common and to celebrate Jo’s life and all that she stood for. It was overwhelming to see how much time and effort the participants had put in to their cakes and I can say firmly say that I have never tasted cake before like I did on 16th June 2017!

I would like to thank all of the groups, individuals and organisations who came along to support the event and a big thank you to Revolver Coffee who provided the refreshments for the event as well as Gazebo / Bilston Town Hall for allowing us to host the event in their fantastic venue. I would also like to extend my thanks to the judging panel which included; The Mayor of Wolverhampton, Dicky Dodd (Signal 107), Charlotte (Signal 107), Councillor Linda Leach and Dennice McKinnon (Masterchef finalist).

We managed to raise £310.17 for the Jo Cox Foundation. All of the pictures from the event can be found on my Facebook page; @patmcfaddenwolverhampton

More information about the ‘Great Get Together’ and the Jo Cox Foundation can be found here;

https://www.greatgettogether.org/