Voice4Change-England's Development and Grants Officer, Jana Kovariova attended the LoveCycle Project Community Engagement event on the 6th of June 2023.
Jana was joined at the event held at the Oasis of Love International Centre on 78A Walsall St, Wolverhampton WV1 3LP by Linda Leach, Deputy Mayor of City of Wolverhampton and Noami Beckles, Senior Manager at Sport England.
They were hosted by Immanuel Iornongu – Pastor and Project Coordinator at Oasis of Love International and welcomed by the happy group of people in Wolverhampton who are dedicated to supporting their fellow community members.
Oasis of Love International is a V4CE member and grantee. The organisation was a recipient of the Sport England Together Fund to execute their LoveCycle Project.
Thanks to the grant, Oasis of Love International was able to provide members of their BME community with tricycles and women’s bikes to accommodate the needs of members of their community with disabilities and mobility issues.
A total of 133 beneficiaries benefited directly from this project with the group reporting improved community cohesion as well as the mental and physical health of their beneficiaries which had been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. They also reported heightened awareness of the importance of physical exercise and its positive effect on the individual's well-being irrespective of age.
Voice4Change-England had worked previously with Oasis of Love International which received a grant from funding provided by Comic Relief via the Covid-19 Emergency Fund.
The funding went into running their Community Soup Kitchen to support struggling members of the community with food parcels and meals.
Commenting on the collaboration with V4CE, a member of the group noted that “we are delighted and always excited to work with Voice4change. It is always a delight working with Jana. She is easy to communicate with, always supportive, understanding, patient, and encouraging. Thank you for the great work you are doing.”