by Holly Robson | Jun 3, 2025 | Love & Community
Here at the Optimist we are celebrating Pride Month this June, and want to spotlight some LGBTQIA+ creators that we think you should be following. We also want to raise awareness for some LGBTQIA+ charities to help boost support for them, as well as promoting some...
by Zain Durrani | Jun 3, 2025 | Love & Community
From a single bench outside his home to a growing network of libraries, planters, and bird boxes, Alex Russell-Bates is reimagining Ruislip’s streets with a DIY spirit and a vision for better community infrastructure. Outside of 33 year old Alex Russell-Bates’ home in...
by Tian'Er He | Jun 2, 2025 | Love & Community
Where knife crime continues to rise, Anthony Olaseinde, known as “Big Ant”, is on a mission to offer young people a real alternative. Through his charity and grassroots activism, he’s transforming fear into hope, turning weapons into opportunities, and reminding a...
by Jasmine El Samad | Jun 2, 2025 | Love & Community
After the tragic passing of her son at the hands of a recreational drug, a mother from Sussex has dedicated her life to an award-winning campaign around the dangers of drug use. Nicci Parish was fast asleep when the phone rang in the early hours of the 10th...
by Annaleece Longmore | Jun 2, 2025 | Community combating, Love & Community
Since its creation in 2017, the charity has grown all over South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, creating over 2,500 new friendships. I joined the Gleadless group on a day where they were making fruity mocktails, and spoke to some of the locals about their experience at...
by Amber Smith | Jun 1, 2025 | Love & Community
In the Somerset town of Frome, something quietly revolutionary is happening, a long-debated piece of land in the town centre officially moved into community hands. This decision marks the beginning of a housing project shaped not by developers or investors, but by the...
