Newport woman creates website to connect people with local community groups

A Newport woman has launched a free website to help people find community groups and organisations working on issues they care about, from wildlife conservation to food support and health.

Simone Whitfield, who has moved home more than 30 times, said she understood how difficult it could be to find a way into a new community.

Her website, Support the World's To-Do List, allows people to enter their postcode and search for local groups working towards the United Nations' 17 Global Goals, which include tackling poverty, improving health and protecting the environment.

A search for Shropshire brings up 68 organisations covering 13 of the 17 goals.

They include repair cafés in Bridgnorth, Ellesmere, Newport and Pontesbury, wildlife groups around Clee Hill and the Strettons, Shrewsbury Men's Shed, Telford Crisis Support and Home-Start Telford and Wrekin.

People can then find organisations they might support by volunteering, raising awareness or making a donation.

Simone said the idea grew from her own experience of struggling to find local groups working on causes she wanted to support.

In 2018, she became involved with an environmental group in Newport after initially finding a similar organisation in Bridgnorth. She went on to chair Sustainable Newport from 2020 to 2025.

The group received the King's Award for Voluntary Service in 2024 for its work in the community.

The idea for the website became more pressing in 2023, when Simone struggled to find an organisation working on issues she had encountered following her son's serious car accident.

She said: "Most people don't need to start something new. They need to find the thing that already exists and fits them, before the urge to help fades."

The website currently lists more than 1,500 organisations across 95 countries, with the UK having the largest number.