All the Small Things CIC have been an integral part of the APLE Collective for many years now, showing commitment and significant contributions to our joint mission. The organisation’s efforts in Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire are commendable. By effectively raising awareness of critical social issues such as poverty and loneliness, they are making a tangible difference in their community.
All The Small Things goes beyond this; they actively work to empower and amplify the voices of those who have directly experienced poverty. Their approach not only brings authenticity to their advocacy but also ensures that the narratives are shaped by those most affected, creating a genuine understanding among the wider community. With each of their projects, All The Small Things encourages the idea that everyone’s voice deserves to be heard, particularly when it pertains to issues that affect their day-to-day lives.
Their dedication not only enriches the APLE Collective but also inspires a shared vision where everyone, irrespective of their background, has the opportunity to live with dignity and contribute to a better society.
We are so grateful that they continue to be a part of the APLE Collective. Here, in their own words, is a bit more information about who they are and their current pieces of work:
All the Small Things is a grassroots community interest company based in Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire. Our organisation is led by 5 female directors, and we are all experienced in community organising and volunteering.
We work collaboratively with lots of organisations throughout the city to enable people to have a bigger voice on issues that affect their lives and communities.
We help to facilitate the North Staffordshire Loneliness Partnership with other organisations to raise awareness of loneliness to help take away the stigma. We continually strive to find ways to reach the lonely in the community. We believe that strong friendships can be found within the community where you live and that some people need a little support to find those meaningful connections.
Poverty Truth Commission – we are currently working with Staffordshire University, Expert Citizens and the Hardship Commission to pilot there being a Poverty Truth Network in Stoke on Trent. This is an outcome from the Raising Voices, Taking Action project that ended in 2023. We want to talk about the causes and effects of hardship and poverty and ideas for action. We are at the start of this journey to ensure that this is the right model for Stoke on Trent. We are currently going out into the community to ask people with lived experience of poverty what it means to them, what they think the solutions could be and giving them the opportunity to be part of the local and national anti-poverty campaigns
Stoke 1000 Lives – All the Small Things has some funding till March 2025 from the Know Your Neighbourhood fund to facilitate the Stoke 1000 Lives Project. We run events in all parts of Stoke on Trent to support people to:
- Talk about what they care about in their community and to share their ideas and concerns
- Hear about projects, campaigns and volunteering opportunities to make a difference in their community
- Share information, experiences, skills and resources
- Join in in practical workshops eg, clay, singing and gardening
- Support local and national campaigns – now we are supporting the Samaritans to find more volunteers and a hate crime project.
Under One Roof – this project is based at St Mark’s Church in Shelton and All the Small Things have been commissioned to run a series of events and training involving the community to become more involved in the future of the building and to:
- Learn new skills – family history course, photography, clay workshops, textile and needlecraft workshops
- Come together for singing workshops, culture share events, heritage open day.
- Capture the heritage of the building through stories, photography, podcasts and archive this for future generations
Inclusive volunteering – push for flexible volunteering opportunities and social action campaigns to include everyone. We are passionate about removing the barriers that stop people from being able to volunteer and for volunteers to share good practice in volunteering and where improvements can be made.