We have all unwrapped yet another pair of socks at Christmas. Many of us will have had a goat donated to a needy village in our name. All jolly good, but this year how about some community shares?<\/p>\n
It will be an alternative and meaningful gift<\/a> for family or friends who don\u2019t want more stuff but do want to make the places they live better. A community share is a share in a local business, run by local people. By buying a share \u2014 which often start at a very affordable \u00a31 \u2014 you have a say in how that business is run.<\/p>\n Like all shares, there are no guarantees of how your investment will perform, but then the reward is primarily about the social impact, not the financial returns. It is a chance to support a fantastic business offering local services on your doorstep.<\/p>\n Better homes this Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n Take Stretford Public Hall in Manchester. Once home to Stretford Civic Theatre, Stretford Public Hall was built for the local community in 1878, and then enjoyed more than 100 years of community use until its closure in 2012.<\/p>\n In 2015, The Friends of Stretford Public Hall started a campaign to restore the hall to its former glory as a community venue. By buying a community share<\/a>, you can help turn it into a space for arts, for learning, for meeting, for work, for leisure. Maybe to watch a gig, or get married, somewhere to meet and have a coffee, or go to a fitness class.<\/p>\n Once you invest, you have as much say as anyone else as to how it\u2019s run.<\/p>\n