Ealing Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these businesses and organisations regularly in a feature called 'Up Close in Ealing'.

We caught up with Solace Okyne, the Member Pioneer for Ealing and Brentford.

Co-op's Member Pioneers bring together its Members, colleagues and Local Causes to help its communities.

Although Solace Okyne only became a Co-op Member Pioneer in November, she has always wanted to help her community.

"I know it sounds clichéd and cheesy, but I want to make the world a better place," she told Ealing Nub News.

Solace moved to Ealing two years ago and has taken the local area to her heart.

That's why she wants to help in any way that she can, which is why she applied to become a Co-op Member Pioneer, alongside her full-time job in finance.

"I saw lots of people doing really amazing things during the first lockdown and helping out the community, so I was inspired to do the same.

"Ealing is an amazing place to live, through our work we can hopefully make it even better," she added.

Member Pioneers can already be Co-op employees or members of the community.

They create local action plans that mean Co-op can provide support at a local level.

They work very closely with the Local Community Fund recipients which are local causes that are supported by the local Co-op Members.

They can be charities, local community groups or food banks.

Solace said: "It's all about making a difference in your community, being a catalyst, making things happen, every community has different needs, and our role is finding out what these are.

"A good Member Pioneer is someone who is passionate about their area, the people and the place, and is someone who wants to make their community an even better place to live, work and play.

"We have to be very organised and be able to communicate well with people of all backgrounds and be a great listener.

"At the same time, we are able to embrace all different forms of working and communication, whether that's in person, online, or a hybrid of both."

Solace's favourite part of being a Member Pioneer so far has been setting up a community forum.

That's a one-hour weekly slot where organisations come together and talk about their causes and how they can help each other.

Solace then tries to get those organisations working together and balance each other's ideas.

She said: "Usually when you're so involved in a charitable organisation, or any organisation that gives back, you're so absorbed in it, so it's good to take a step back and see other people in the same situation as you and they can help you see things slightly differently and come up with new ideas and solutions."

You can contact Solace at [email protected].

If you've got any ideas on how Co-op could help your community, or want to know what Co-op is doing near you then contact the Co-op Member Pioneer Co-ordinator for your area, who will then put you in touch with your local Member Pioneer.