Mayor of Oldham launches ‘Truly Wished’ campaign

Local residents are being invited to nominate someone they know in Oldham who deserves for their wish to be granted, following the official launch of the Mayor’s ‘Truly Wished’ campaign.

Councillor Zahid Chauhan OBE formally opened the nomination process in front of leading community figures and business owners during an event held at Oldham’s Eastern Pavilion to mark the occasion.

As mentioned in his opening speech as Mayor, Cllr Chauhan aims to make as big of an impact as possible on people’s lives during the next 12 months – including helping to make people’s wishes come true.

Now through ‘Truly Wished’, people in Oldham can put forward someone they know from the borough, who they believe warrants for their wish to become a reality. 

As part of the process, people should explain why a person has been nominated, what their wish would be and how it would make a difference to that person’s life. 

Examples could include someone who is really struggling and is in need of a long overdue pick-me-up, or someone who selflessly cares for the needs of others before their own and is deserving of a night off to enjoy a fantastic dining experience.

“I am really excited to get Truly Wished off the ground and to begin granting people’s wishes,” said Cllr Chauhan.

“As Mayor, I am really committed to making as big of an impact as I can on people’s lives, which is why I came up with this idea because there are lots of people in our borough who we know that have sadly gone through some really hard times of late and who deserve the chance to experience something special in their life which will make them smile.

“I will play my part in this campaign by raising as much money as I can to support ‘Truly Wished’ but I also want you to start nominating someone that you know who deserves for their wish to be granted, so we can start to make these wishes become a reality.”

All wishes up to a maximum value of £500 will be eligible for consideration, with the final decision on which ones are granted being made by Action Together in partnership with the Mayor’s Mayoral Committee – with no involvement from the Mayor himself.

Speaking on why Action Together is involved with Truly Wished, Laura Windsor-Welsh, Oldham Director of Action Together, added: “People in our communities have gone through so much over the last few years.

“From the Covid-19 pandemic, right through to the current cost-of-living crisis, people in Oldham are long overdue a bit of happiness.

“We are excited to be supporting Truly Wished, it’s a fantastic way for us and all those involved, to bring some joy to Oldham residents.

"This is why we are donating our services to the Mayor to make this a reality.

"We encourage everyone to think about how they might be able to support with fundraising and to start making their nominations.”

Truly Wished will be funded entirely by donations raised by the Mayor via the Mayor’s Charity Appeal Fund.

This will include money raised at different Mayoral functions, as well as individual donations received by generous members of the public and contributions made by partnering businesses, local groups and organisations who are keen to support the campaign.

Anyone wishing to make a contribution to 'Truly Wished' can do so by donating to the Mayor’s Charity Appeal.

The Mayor will also be donating his full Mayoral allowance to the campaign and already has support from some local businesses including JMW Solicitors, Britannia Group, NHS North West Genomics Medicine Alliance, the Blue Tiffin, The Grill, Weightmans, Beacon and The Palm Restaurant.

For more information on Truly Wished, including how you can make a nomination or a donation to the campaign, please visit: www.trulywished.org

Nominations will be open until March 1, 2024, and individuals can only nominate a person once.

The decision on nominations granted will be held at a panel meeting once every month by Action Together and the Mayoral Committee, with the outcomes of every nomination to be communicated back to the nominator.

Nominations can only be fulfilled as long as there are enough funds to pay for wishes to be granted.

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