Mayor’s Column: Councillor Aasim Rashid

Date published: 14 November 2021

Councillor Aasim Rashid was sworn in as the Mayor of Rochdale on Wednesday 19 May 2021.

This column is about the places he has been and the people he has met from Monday 18 October to Sunday 24 October.

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Funded by Action Together, I attended a volunteer celebration evening at Rochdale Connections Trust’s (RCT) base on Drake Street on Tuesday 19 October.

Now a leading independent provider of domestic abuse services, the local charity understands the complexity of the issues faced by affected residents and has evolved as an organisation to meet changing social, health and wellbeing needs; offering 1:1 mentoring support to young people facing difficulty and a raft of interventions designed to help families.

The annual Volunteer of the Year award was presented at the event - congratulations to Ifra Sadiq who was named Volunteer of the Year 2021. A very well deserving recipient, Ifra has voluntarily shown dedication to the young people of RCT. The amazing achievements of all volunteers from the past 12 months were then celebrated with some entertainment, food and drinks.

Thank you to the dedicated volunteers who give up their time to support young people and service users involved with RCT and thanks also to the Board of Trustees and everyone who attended to make the evening so successful.

 

 

The next day (Wednesday 20 October) I met with Adam Trennery from Their4U Fundraising to discuss future charity events, which I have agreed to let the local organisation take care of and organise. Together, we will be raising funds for my five fantastic chosen charities: Springhill Hospice, Parkinson’s UK, Petrus Rochdale, Jolly Josh, and Rochdale Shopmobility.

We discussed hosting a charity football tournament in the new year for the Mayor’s Charity Appeal, with a date set for 9 January 2022. Thank you to Adam for helping me in my mission.

 

 

My first two engagements on Thursday 21 October were at Shawclough Primary School and Elm Wood Primary School to talk to pupils about the role of the Mayor of Rochdale and democracy.

This is a great initiative that the sitting mayor is invited to do annually, organised by the election staff at Rochdale Borough Council to promote our democracy locally and nationally. I think it is important that children have an idea of how members are elected and to learn about politics in general, so thank you to the elections team for organising and for helping to promote democracy in our borough.

Thursday evening, I attended a black history celebration at Middleton Arena organised by local group Caring and Sharing who support and empower the BAME community, including asylum seekers, and other disadvantaged groups in the community.

I was invited by CEO Nicky Iginla for an evening of cultural music, dance, poetry and more celebrating Black History Month and the creativity of Rochdale’s black community. As well as a parade of traditional and modern fashion and information on the people of Rochdale and its diversity, two panellists answered questions from the audience and shed more light on the achievements of Black British in our community.

Black History Month is an annual celebration honouring achievements of historic leaders of the black community and the sacrifice and suffering they endured to secure the rights and freedoms enjoyed in the present. It also helps create awareness of the past so that we can appreciate the progress made.

Thank you to Caring and Sharing for inviting me and for providing an opportunity for residents to celebrate and have a better understanding of black history and accomplishments of the community.

 

 

Rochdale Rotary Club celebrated 95 years since its inception with a dinner at Rochdale Sports Club on Thursday 21 October, which I was invited to as an honorary guest.

President of the club Merrilyn Chadwick was joined by around 60 Rotarians and friends, along with guest speaker and poet, Paul Jenkins, to celebrate the foundation of the Rochdale club in 1926.

The amount of local people who are Rotarians is amazing, and they do amazing things. I have lots of admiration for the work that they do providing humanitarian service, and I hope the various rotary clubs around the borough can continue to prosper for many more years to come.
 

Read more: Rochdale Rotary celebrates 95th charter nightPublished: 08 November 2021

 

 

Sunday morning (24 October) the annual Kashmiri flag raising was held outside Number One Riverside, which I raised.

The event was organised by Rochdale Kashmiri Association to mark the date Azad Kashmir was established in 1947. The flag has been raised in the borough on 24 October - Azad Kashmir Day - for the last 10 years.

Thank you to all who attended despite the bad weather including members of local and Kashmiri communities, councillors, council leader Neil Emmott and Rochdale MP Sir Tony Lloyd. I wish the people of Kashmir health, wealth, prosperity, and peace.
 

Read more: Kashmir flag raised at Number One Riverside for Azad Kashmir DayPublished: 25 October 2021

 

 

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The Mayor’s Charity Appeal for 2021/22 is raising funds for Springhill Hospice, Parkinson’s UK, Petrus Rochdale, Jolly Josh, and Rochdale Shopmobility. All donations are gratefully received and will go to these fantastic local causes.

You can donate to the Mayor’s Charity Appeal (registered charity number 1043910) by:

BACS or bank transfer:
Barclays Bank Rochdale Branch
Account Name: Mayor of Rochdale's Charity Appeal
Account Number: 53356159
Sort code: 20-72-67

Cheque: make cheques payable to The Mayor's Charity. You can drop them off at the front desk at Number One Riverside or post them to:

​​The Mayor's Office
Number One Riverside
Smith Street
Rochdale
OL16 1XU​​​​

Phone (one-off text giving): Text ROCHDALE to 70085 to donate £5. Texts costs £5 plus one standard rate message.

 

 

Mayoral Invitations

The mayor welcomes invitations to events held by local organisations and individuals. Due to demand, it may not be possible for the mayor to attend every event he is invited to.

To invite the mayor to your event, please complete the mayor attendance form and return it to the Mayor’s Officer.

• Visit: www.rochdale.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/mayors/Pages/mayoral-invitations.aspx
• Email: mayoral@rochdale.gov.uk
• Tel: 01706 924890