'Everyone loves the power of a good story' - how the Spellow Hub fundraiser took on a life of its own

Every good story has a protagonist we can all get behind. A noble cause that drives them forward as we turn the pages on their adventure.

To paraphrase the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Richard Kemp “books take you around the world” but what do you do when the plot is unfolding right in front of your eyes and the turning point of the story doesn’t come with a warning? That is the situation Alex McCormick found herself in as scenes of violence spilled out in Walton earlier this month.

Following the tragic killing of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July, violent disorder, fuelled by online misinformation, flared across Merseyside and the country, with hundreds of people taking to the streets at a mosque then on to County Road where the Liverpool Council-run Spellow Hub was damaged significantly.

The library, which had only reopened in March last year, was targeted as bins were set alight and shops were looted. It left a vital community asset in one of the country’s most deprived communities out of action with no date for reopening in sight yet.

Watching on from her home, Alex McCormick felt the need to do something. What was initially a gesture to raise £500 to give the L4 site a boost, spiralled into a movement even bigger. 500 times bigger in fact, generating £250,000 in a matter of days, being backed by celebrities, politicians and royalty.

Almost a month on, Ms McCormick reflected on a project that began one Sunday afternoon and ended up with her sat across from the Lord Mayor in the opulent surroundings of Liverpool Town Hall being honoured for her efforts. She said: “It’s been absolutely lovely, I’ve never actually been to the town hall, does that make me a bad Scouser?

“We got a tour and it’s a really beautiful building and part of Liverpool’s heritage which is nice to see. We don’t appreciate it enough sometimes when it’s in your own city.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that moment (starting the fundraiser) would lead to this, it’s just absolutely insane the way the fundraiser took off and everything that’s followed. It’s a really lovely honour to be here but difficult to wrap my head around.”

Two brothers, Adam and Ellis Wharton, were among those jailed for their part in the disturbances in Walton this month. A 69-year-old man, William Morgan, was also sentenced for taking part in the riots, armed with a bat.

Asked how she felt watching the scenes unfold on that fateful weekend, Ms McCormick explained why she was compelled to contribute to the rebuilding effort. She said: “I think it just hits a little bit differently when it’s in Liverpool.

“We as a city are so culturally diverse, we pride ourselves on that, we’ve got the oldest Chinese community in the country and I think when something like that happens here, it feels a bit different because we pride ourselves on being different, so I think for me, it stings a little bit more and it made me feel a bit more upset and angry than if I’d seen this happen in another city maybe.”

Once the GoFundMe page went live, it took on a life of its own, blasting towards its six figure total in a matter of days. Donations came in from Nigella Lawson, children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and even Queen Camilla donated some books.

The speed at which the total climbed took Ms McCormick by surprise, surpassing all expectations. She said: “A lot of people were screenshotting and sending it to me. I think that in itself is bizarre because there were a lot of quick updates from it, people were donating so thick and fast.

“On the first night, I set it up at midday on the Sunday, by the time I’d gone to bed it hit £20,000. I remember saying to my-now husband what a lovely number to have hit, that’s beyond what I ever would have expected but it’ll quiet down now, this will be yesterday’s news, then it just kept going and going and going which is not what any of us could have imagined.”

Why then, did so many engage with the fundraiser? The mum-of-one offered a literary theory. She said: “I just think everyone loves the power of a good story, a good book, a good library. I don’t know a single person who hasn’t got a connection to one of those things in one way or another.

“A community space that benefits old people, kids and everyone in between, we need to look after those spaces and make sure they continue to exist. That’s why it touched so many people because it was such a beautiful space that was damaged and the people it will impact the most.”

Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, told the ECHO earlier this month that there is a commitment to get the site open as soon as possible, with structural engineers assessing the work that will need to be done to achieve that aim. Ms McCormick, who got married just days after the fundraiser was set up, said everyone involved would keep the community up to date on how the huge sum would be spent and outlined her vision for the space as it takes on a new lease of life.

She said: “For me, I’d love to see more community outreach, I think we’re all on the same page there; more baby and children’s classes, maybe more things where elderly people can come in for socialisation, I’d love to see something for the teenagers. If we can get our teenagers involved in the local community a little bit more, the world will be a nicer place and they should know they have access to these places and they can benefit them as well.”

Every good story needs a compelling end but for the unlikely protagonist of this tale, Ms McCormick gave the impression that the fundraiser was just the beginning and the plot was only now taking shape. She said: “I think at this point Spellow has become a home from home, I've been there that many times and I’d like to see it through to the end now as well, I couldn’t just abandon it, it would be like abandoning my child. I’d love to see it right through to the reopening and beyond, it’s nice when you get a connection with a place and with the people who work there and lives revolve around the place, I think I’ve become one of those people at this point, my whole life is this library and I love it.

“I’ve loved it, I think it’s really nice. From a personal point of view, I was always the nerdy one in school who would read in school assemblies and I feel like that’s finally paid off in the past month. I think it’s just a nice thing to be involved in, I don’t think I would ever say I regret the involvement in it at all.

“It’s nice to know that I’ve been involved in a small part of Spellow’s history and it’s a library with such an amazing history anyway, so to be part of that is an honour.”