Gemma Fish is fighting incurable breast cancer but still finds time to run a community organisation which has helped countless families.
When she launched the ‘Bridgewater Foundation: Step into Action’ in 2020, Gemma simply wanted to help people who needed it or felt like they needed it.
The volunteer- led community organisation helps Salford families, running weekly food banks and providing clothing and household help, mental health support among other services.
Even though she is a single mum living with stage-four breast cancer, she does not let it stop her.
Life has thrown some challenges at 43-year-old Gemma but she says she has kept going and continued building something she believes in, helping others that cannot necessarily help themselves.
Being a big inspiration to her four-year-old Rosie who can look up to her mum and see the amount of good she is doing for the community, is important to Gemma.
“Running a community organisation is not easy. there are days when the funding worries, the endless paperwork and the sheer amount of need in our communities can feel overwhelming,” she said.
“I’ve always believed that you can’t change the whole world but you absolutely can can change somebody’s world.
“The main aim of Bridgewater foundation Salford is quite simple really- to make sure that nobody in our community feels like they have nowhere to turn.”
Gemma is from Little Hulton and has lived in various parts of Salford and has always been home to her. She used to own a pub before Covid-19 hit, and it had to be shut down.
“As the pandemic continued, people started losing their jobs and struggling to put food on the table. I began buying food parcels with my own money and delivering them to families who needed support,” she added.
After it was shut down, Gemma knew she wanted to help the community. During Covid-19 she started Salford Step into action, which focused on collecting prescriptions, doing people’s shopping, and talking over garden gates with residents who feel isolated.
They delivered 10,000 leaflets around Walkden and Little Hulton to let people know that they were there if the community ever needed them.
She said: “For me, community is about people helping people, being able to play even a small part in bringing that together is an absolute privilege.”
Gemma says she is so proud of the people they have helped and the friendships they have made with different people, families, and the volunteers who have stuck by the group.
“I love seeing our volunteers grow in confidence and realise how much they have to offer,” she added.
