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Groove Collective is the team who work hard every year to bring Groove de Lecq to one of the most scenic locations on the island. Over the years they've also raised over £150,000 for local charities. This year, the Groove Collective became a not-for-profit enterprise that redistributes funds directly to charity initiatives.
Putting up a music and arts community festival takes time and with only 24 hours to go before the doors open at Greve de Lecq, the groovers still have quite a lot of work to do. Luckily, they found time to sit down and tell us what they would change about Jersey.
Groove is only possible thanks to the huge contribution from local musicians and artists. These artists spend hours learning and improving their skills yet, are often undervalued. As an organization we reward our community by providing a festival focusing on local talent and the opportunity to perform and create but we know that more can be done.
Pictured: Artists bring a lot to the island and the Collective wants their value to be recognised.
We are eternally grateful for the time and great efforts artists contribute and wish more people appreciated the value they bring and supported local musicians at gigs and local artists when they exhibit. We have an island bursting with talent and believe we all would benefit from more live music and arts venues and a vibrant local crowd to support them.
Local charities have grown within our island with over 500 registered charities and not-for-profits caring about people, animals and our environment. They are often specialists in their field and only possible because of a network of volunteers and professionals.
Pictured: A lot of local charities and businesses are involved in Groove de Lecq.
At the heart of Groove is supporting local charities and initiatives, raising funds and awareness of their cause. We want to make our island a more caring and compassionate place to live. We try to use local businesses over corporations at every turn. If we support islanders to flourish at the grassroots we will create more opportunities for local ideas and people driven to make them happen.
Groove actively seek to minimize the organisation’s impact on the environment; this year we have made an enormous effort to be as sustainable as possible by applying and promoting repurpose, reduce, reuse and recycle. We prioritise the use of upcycled materials, offer Eco-Cups, recycle cans with Durrell, offer free public transport, use sustainable building methods and materials and have banned single use plastics across our festival site.
Pictured: The collective try to be as green as possible and want fellow islanders to do the same.
We feel our island can do much more to support and promote schemes, organisations, companies and others that strive to make a positive social and environmental impact through their activities. We believe each Islander and businesses have a responsibility to consider and be conscious of the waste they produce. Key to this is education and a united front to ensure our government is responsible for its actions when it comes to the conservation of our beautiful island.
Jersey is known internationally as a tax haven for the rich, but the reality is that thousands of our people are living in relative poverty. We want to see a Jersey where our decision makers are held accountable to legislate for the many, not just the few very wealthy. Jersey needs to catch up with our neighbours when it comes to looking after the whole community.
Pictured: Jersey should look after its community and ensure that decision makers legislate for the many, not just a happy few.
We want to see an enforced living wage, affordable housing, equal opportunity in education and improvement in women's rights such as addressing maternity leave and the gender pay gap.
We want to live on an island where we accept, value and nurture the contributions of all, regardless of religion, gender, sexuality, ethnicity or background. Jersey presents a wonderfully unique place to live and visit, demonstrated by our booming population but there are great strides to be made when it comes to equal opportunities for all.
Pictured: Disco balls are for everyone, and so should equal opportunities.
Our tourism will benefit from an island that welcomes all visitors regardless of their background. The Groove Collective want to see a future Jersey where everybody’s hopes and aspirations can be realized.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not those of Bailiwick Express.
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