FE Big Lunch 2025 celebrates Walsall College’s partners and student volunteers
Pleck Library was the setting of Walsall College’s FE Big Lunch 2025. The annual event celebrates the work of local volunteers and community organisations who help make a difference to peoples’ lives.
The college’s community learning students came together with representatives from the college’s partner organisations to show appreciation for their support and in turn be recognised for their own efforts to help their peers and wider circles.
Guests were encouraged to spend time on round tables talking about random acts of kindness they had recently carried out as well as how they could ‘pay it forward’ and pledge to share a message of positivity with another person,
They were also invited to write down on paper shaped like a green leaf a message about what community meant to them. This was added to a cardboard cut-out tree which will remain on display in the campus.
Principal and Chief Executive, Jatinder Sharma CBE DL was in attendance along with some of the college’s leadership team. He also supported the event in his capacity as Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands.
He said: “This was a joyous, uplifting occasion demonstrating the importance of togetherness, inclusivity, belonging and mutual appreciation that help makes communities like ours thrive.
“Volunteering and giving back to others play a vital role in how we learn and grow as individuals while fostering a spirit of collaboration and shared purpose.
“We’re delighted to have enabled our learners and partner organisations to recognise one another’s work while being inspired by their achievements and future ambitions.”
Partner organisations attending included whg, Aiana Community Hub, Walsall Football Community Foundation, Housing 21, Walsall Works, West Midlands Police and DWP.
The FE Big Lunch was launched to coincide with the Coronation of King Charles III and is now hosted annually by colleges across the region in the form of lunches, afternoon teas and picnics.
