Groundwork

Changing places and lives since the 1980s

Groundwork was established in the early 1980's as a radical experiment to engage government, businesses and communities in collective action to improve the physical, social and economic fabric of disadvantaged communities.

The principle of creating dynamic partnerships for action is still at the heart of our approach.
‘Join the FROGs’ was the rallying cry when Groundwork first began changing places and lives in St Helens on the edge of Merseyside in 1982. Friends of Operation Groundwork (the FROGs) were a vital part of the model for a new organisation testing out a new way of tackling some new – and some very old – problems.

Those friends came from the local community but also included local businesses, schools and all the organisations and agencies that had an interest in improving the physical and social fabric of areas hit by multiple challenges.

Eggs. Sugar. Flour. Butter.

Great on their own, even better when they are combined. The blending of simple ingredients and practical action is what makes a cake just one example of something much greater than the sum of its parts.

You may be surprised to learn that the same principle applies when you want to help people to create thriving communities in places that the face the greatest social, economic and environmental challenges. Places that that are stronger, greener and more prosperous.

That’s the inspiration behind the Groundwork approach.

Take a passion for helping people reach their potential and add it to a drive to create better places with a greener future. Bring together people and organisations from a range of backgrounds. Then combine all of that into thousands of practical, locally led projects. It's a recipe for success and it adds up to a world of difference.

Our Impact

Each year we make an incredible impact on the ground across the country.

In 2011/2012, we:

Completed over 6,300 community projects
Worked with 2,000 community organisations
Supported adults and young people to spend almost 450,000 days of community volunteering
Improved or maintained 40,000,000 square metres of land for public use and planted 60,000 trees
Helped more than 4,200 people find work or training and 8,700 people achieve qualifications

Groundwork Lancashire West & Wigan is the local community charity with a green heart.

We help people and organisations make changes in order to create better neighbourhoods, to build skills and job prospects, and to live and work in a greener way.

We change places and change lives in Wigan, the west of Lancashire and north Merseyside.

Our work involves:

Contact Us

Blackpool office:
Groundwork in Blackpool
The Enterprise Centre, Lytham Road, Blackpool FY4 1EW
Tel: 01253 345445
Fax: 01253 752672