Our Local Community

Courage to Thrive seeks to work in small but significant ways towards our objective of unlocking thriving with individuals, teams & communities across the Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole conurbation, by opening up spaces where transformation can happen.  We are a local movement calling out courage in any who live or work in the conurbation.

Struggling against poverty is a deep challenge to thriving.  The injustices are enormous. In the Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (BCP) conurbation, male life expectancy varies by a staggering 13 years, depending where you live.  There was an increase in Food Bank referrals locally of 126% in 2023, and a 168% rise in applications for help with homelessness in the last two years.  But poverty is about people not statistics.  At Courage to Thrive, like many, we believe the status quo is no longer good enough.  We also believe it takes deep courage and wisdom to find effective solutions to persistent and stubborn challenges.  That is why we hosted Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole’s first Poverty Truth Commission (PTC), during 2022-3, and are hosting a second in 2024-6.  Find out more on the Poverty Truth Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole website.

PTCs enable those with lived experience of poverty to have a voice in the decisions which concern them, putting the wisdom of those who struggle against poverty at the heart of bringing about change.  We bring together those who are experts through experience, with local leaders who bring a different type of expertise – both are needed and valuable.  To find out more about what a PTC is and how it works, watch the 4 minute video on our website.  To find out more about the network of PTCs around the country take a look at the Poverty Truth Network website.

Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole’s first PTC culminated in an inspiring celebration event in July 2023.  The full Commission comprised around 12 Community Commissioners – local people who know what it’s like to struggle against poverty, and a similar number of Civic & Business Commissioners – local leaders.  The celebration event gave an opportunity to hear some of what had happened as a result of the commission, and what was arising as a result. To find out more see our interactive report.  If you’d like to know more about our current commission, please do get in touch via the website.

What if we could form communities who:

• cheer us on and remind us to live in the way we say we want to?
• remind us to be kind to ourselves?
• help us to find the joy in the lives we have and the courage to make the changes we want to?

And what if there are simple tools and practices which could help us live in the way we want to and which don’t cost the earth?  Courage to Thrive is a movement for any in the Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole conurbation who wants to unlock thriving – whatever that means for each of us.

We are a local movement of people standing together to find courage to thrive through:

• self-care & self-compassion: learning to be kind to ourselves;
• being communities that reach out to each other through kindness, affirmation, appreciation and vulnerability;
• being people who know what personal values are important to us and finding ways to live by them;
• choosing life: learning tools of proactivity and responsibility to overcome barriers to our thriving;
• becoming people who honour both ourselves and each other through honest communication: saying what we mean and meaning what we say;
• living gratefully, living creatively.

For more information on how we do this see our pages about Step out of the Traffic Workshops and Coaching Circles  both of which provide support, simple tools, practices and communities to support us in unlocking thriving.  We also offer one-to-one coaching and support local teams and workplaces to explore how they can help unlock thriving with their staff and the local community.

Courage to Thrive is a social enterprise – a not-for-profit business for social purpose. We are exploring ways to make our workshops and activities accessible to all, so that whatever your financial situation you could take part.  We seek to develop a model where each is invited to pay according to what they can afford, with some able to ‘pay it forward’ to make it possible for others to also benefit.  To do this we also seek sponsorship from organisations and individuals to make our workshops and activities affordable to all.  We love generosity – both receiving it and giving it – a know it to be a radical and joyful way of doing things.  Get in touch if you’d like to find out more.