Councillors, business owners and campaigners came together on Tuesday evening to celebrate Glossop's status as a 'Toilet Twinned Town'.
Millions of people in the developing world have no access to clean and safe sanitation, putting them and their communities at risk of ill health and physical danger when forced to use the outdoors.
For World Toilet Day last November, Glossop Labour Club, Glossopdale Fairtrade Group and Green Churches Network promoted Toilet twinning in Glossopdale with a 'Big Squat' in Norfolk Square and toilet themed games and cakes at the Labour Club.
Cherry Baker of The Pilates Studio, who led the Norfolk Square squat, said: "I was really pleased to be involved – it is a great practical initiative that improves health and quality of life, especially for women and girls whose lives are put at risk by having nowhere safe and private to go to the toilet."
The organising team were flush with success when many local businesses and organisations volunteered to take part: Thrive, Panaderia Blue, About Thyme, Dukes, Two Hares, The Commercial, The Star, Pilates Studio, Body Works Injury Clinic, the Bureau and High Peak Borough Council were all involved in fundraising.
Together they funded 11 twinned toilets, enabling families in vulnerable communities to have their own private toilets.
All the businesses were presented with their Toilet twinning certificates by the Mayor of the High Peak, Councillor Ollie Cross.
Also in attendance were representatives from some of the groups that had twinned their toilets in recent years which included Glossop and Hadfield Methodists, Glossop Parish Church, St Andrew’s, St John’s. St Luke’s, St James’ and Gamesley Churches, together with their respective primary schools, as well as Glossopdale WI, The Vineyard Parish Centre and the Cask and Kitchen.
Glossopdale is the first Toilet Twinned Town in High Peak. To achieve this status, a town has to twin more than 20 toilets in five different sectors, and the community has gone way above and beyond that target with a total of 46 twinned toilets!
Kasey Carver, one of the lead organisers of the project, presented Glossopdale's certificate to the Mayor of High Peak, Councillor Ollie Cross.
Images by Anthony Mckeown
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