FAMILIES from different cultures will be brought together for fun days out in a bid to improve community relations in Dudley.

The Black Country Integration Project has received £10,000 from the Big Lottery to allow families to be matched based on the ages of their children and sent on a day trip to local attractions such as Dudley Zoo, so they can get to know each other.

Rachael Taylor, the brains behind the scheme, said she hopes to build on the "real desire" for people to integrate in Dudley.

She was delighted to receive the funding and start providing opportunities for families to learn about their neighbours and discover how much they have in common.

Although she has support from several Dudley councillors and local faith organisations, Rachael admits that in the early days, the project was met with uncertainty.

She said: "Some people said to me that it wouldn’t work because some people don’t want to integrate.

"When you have an idea and you receive a negative response, it can be so easy at that time to just give up on it.

"But then I thought about my own experience. I have been very lucky to meet many people in my life from different cultures and backgrounds.

"Whenever I have spent time with someone, taken the time to communicate with them and get to know them, I always discover that I have more things in common with them than I have differences.

"Even when we don’t speak the same language."

Rachael, who lives in Stourbridge, said she has been encouraged by the support since the launch at Mayor's Parlour in Dudley Council House on Friday (July 17) and is confident about improving community relations across the borough.

She said: “We hope that some of the families we match together will stay in touch with each other and become friends after their day out.”

To find out more about the project, visit bcip.org.