Chester resident receives an MBE for services to the community

Mr Francis Ball, from Chester, has received an MBE, for services to the community in Ellesmere Port, in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Francis Ball, from Chester, has received an MBE for services to the community in Ellesmere Port during Covid-19.

• He is the driving force behind Bridge Wellness Gardens. It started with his vision to use horticulture to provide jobs in a deprived inner city area for people who are long-term unemployed and has become a community resource which could provide therapy and support for young people with mental health and learning difficulties.
• The site was developed to provide study facilities, including craft areas. He identified the opportunity to use the farm’s organically grown produce to generate increased funds for the charity’s work.
• In response to the Covid-19 crisis by rapidly up-scaling the charity's commercial operation supplying fruit and vegetable boxes to those self-isolating. In the beginning, he got the project off the ground with support from a nucleus of 60 volunteers, the local authority and a number of grant awarding bodies.
• His response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he expanded the veg box scheme to deliver to as many vulnerable people as he could. This involved up-scaling, almost overnight, from an average 120 boxes delivered once a week to over 575 over two delivery days each week. 8 volunteers to 20 drivers.The logistics were incredibly challenging, sourcing high volumes of quality organic produce against a backdrop of shortages, mobilizing an increased number of volunteers and managing the large volume of new customers.
• He also established the ‘Bridge Buddy Club’, where volunteers would call vulnerable people in their local area to make sure they have access to what they need and to provide a listening ear, so as to mitigate loneliness.
• In August, he delivered 10,000 meals to 400 struggling families- 5,000 of which were ‘meal kits’ which taught families how to cook from scratch, providing invaluable lifeskills that they’ll be able to use in the future.
• He also established the ‘Welly to Belly’ Holiday activity club, which provided summer activities for 130 kids, giving them gardening skills and tools which they can then use in later life.

Congratulations Francis!