'Who is This?' Episode 4 - Russell Hogarth - Last in the series

'Who is This?' Episode 4 - Russell Hogarth - Last in the series

May, 30 2020


Welcome to the very last episode of ‘Who is this?’ For the past three weeks I have looked at three men that have taken the lead within the CCG remit. They read as follows:-

  • Philip Parramore
  • Alex Ashworth
  • Nigel Farnworth

There is, however one man that is very much the ‘Daddy’ of the whole operation. For the fourth and final episode of ‘Who is this?’  I’ll be focusing on Russell Hogarth, chair and co-founder of the national and international Creative Communities Group.

To get the full bulk of the story of Russell we need to rewind a little.

In his forties he was running a successful business yet at the age of 48 and decided to call an early retirement. This allowed him time to dedicate his life to his philanthropic work in the community, which consisted of both voluntary and charity work.

Russell has experienced a series of unfortunate health related setbacks in his life but he has been able to channel this positively in a teaching environment. This was used effectively upon starting a voluntary role at UCLAN in 2007 and as a member of the Community Involvement Team (CIT).

He managed to impress his colleagues to the point that he was asked to chair the CIT and the annual One in Four Mental Health Film Festival which addresses serious and occasionally light hearted films with a mental health theme running throughout.

For the next five years Russell grafted away working hard in the community on philanthropic endeavours. He honed in on mental health in particular. This ultimately led to an honorary fellowship in 2012 awarded to him from UCLAN. He later went on to become a UCLAN community ambassador.

It was at this point that The Creative Communities Group was born. Upon its inception it was a catalyst for University and Community partnerships and a model of best practice for active citizenship and lifelong learning on a global level. He still chairs the group to this present day.

Russell’s work has been published on a number of occasions with his academic and clinical colleagues. Just five years ago he published and co-edited the hugely successful book, titled, ‘creative education, teaching and learning’. It is designed to equip the reader in creative teaching as a pathway to inclusion and accessible education.

His unique teaching sessions have seem him create ‘The Teddy Bear Clinic’ for University nursing students and, as previously mentioned his personal mental health experiences plus the backing of this CCG colleagues enabled him to design the classroom seminar and conference workshop titled ‘Towards a Better Tomorrow’.

This positive hopeful seminar has been recognized and highly evaluated by students, academics and community partners and is now very much in demand throughout the United Kingdom (UK).

Here are several other notable roles Russell has invested considerable time in:-

  • An adviser to the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Association of Social Workers
  • Patron for ‘DanceSyndrome’ [supporting the creative talents of people with either physical or mental health issues]
  • Patron for the end of life palliative care charity LifeNow.

Russell has successfully capitalized on turning a negative into a bright light of optimism. This was further realized when he was asked on a series of occasions to attend meetings in the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the European Parliament.

In 2020 the Creative Communities Group that Russell co-founded was successfully awarded the international Silver Rose award by our European Union (EU) partners SOLIDAR (a cooperative worldwide network based in 29 counties that aims to advance social justice) for lifelong learning and active citizenship (Silver Rose 2020 Awardees).

Without Russell’s immense contribution to the CCG right from day one it could not have been as glowing as it is in the present day. But Russell’s achievements hasn’t  just reached a local level it is now on a national and even international scale.

His resume is sensational as is his work rate and he is well thought of by others who know and appreciate his great strength, passion and philanthropy. He also has a good record for the service he has done for the sustenance of humanity.

I have had the honor and privilege of knowing Russell since 2010 and I am proud to call him both a friend and mentor. He has played a huge part in my life and contributed to my personal development.

Russell continues to strive to work  for the good in others and most importantly for us all to reach ‘towards a better, tomorrow’.<