Introducing...
For Thank You Day 2024, we’re excited to launch the first-ever Community Takeovers.
Community Takeovers are about bringing people together to takeover the space that belongs to them – and inviting local charities, businesses, community groups and more to be part of something amazing.
They can be as grand as a local festival in your area or as small as closing a residential street and opening the doors of your local community centre.
What makes a Community Takeover?
FUN
Made up of experiences that allow people to connect easily – think games, music, bb-thank-qs, or creative activities.
OPEN
All members of the public and organisations with different missions are invited – everyone is welcome at a takeover!
ACCESSIBLE
Takeovers are open to anyone and easy to get to – think about locations like play streets, parks or open office spaces.
THANKFUL
for communities, organisations, people and groups – from every background and every corner of society!
How your council can take part
Thank You Day is a low-to-no cost, pre-packaged campaign that any authority can pick up and run with. We have a special partner pack for local authorities with everything you need on how to organise your very own Community Takeover, and some suggestions below for where to start.
Convene community groups
Community Takeovers are all about exactly that: people and local groups taking over the spaces that already belong to them, and using them to create moments of togetherness. You can use your position as a local authority to convene a small coalition of local charities, businesses and voluntary organisations and encourage them to drive a Community Takeover by pooling their existing resources on July 7th.
Remove barriers
Work with partners delivering a Community Takeover in your area to make sure that they have a streamlined experience of organising their event – for example, by giving a Community Takeover event priority for support with organising a street closure, or supporting event organisers to make the best use of public spaces like parks. It’s all about local authorities getting behind Takeovers and creating the conditions to enable them – your residents and communities will do the rest!
Spread the word
Use central Councils comms – like your resident newsletters, website or councillor blogs – to share the word about the Community Takeover happening in your authority. Many of the people reached by Council communications are exactly the kind of residents who would benefit most from the chance to reconnect with their local community. Consider what your authority can say thank you for in its messaging to set the tone for and inspire participation by others.
Organise an event
The goal of a Community Takeover is for local groups to develop their own activity and run with it as a genuine grass-roots expression of togetherness – but of course, if your local authority wants to, the same resources and ideas we give to community groups can also form part of a council-backed event! Our partner pack contains more information outlining the kinds of activity that we support local groups to organise, with resources your authority can use to organise an event, too.
Don't forget to tell us about your event!
We’d love to hear from any local authority planning to organise or support a Community Takeover in their area – and though we can’t make any promises, we know our media partners would love to know, too! Email thankyouday@together.org.uk to let us know about what your authority is planning to do on July 7th.