January 2010
British Land joins Project Shoreditch
ELBA is delighted that British Land is to join existing partners Linklaters and UBS in the award-winning social regeneration programme, Project Shoreditch.
Currently in its third phase having been extended again for an additional two years, the initial partnership and funding arrangement between Deutsche Bank, Linklaters, UBS and the Shoreditch Trust finishes at the end of March 2010. Since its inception in April 2005 over 5,500 employee volunteers have given time and skills equating to £750,000, to support over 85 schools and community organisations in Shoreditch through a range of individual and group initiatives.
Property investors British Land have been supporting various employability projects in the Shoreditch area and were clear favourites to join the partnership during discussions on extending Project Shoreditch into Phase III. Planning for the next phase of the project begins in early 2010; and it is also hoped that real estate company Hammerson and the Mayor’s Fund for London will become involved. We are looking forward to the next exciting phase of Project Shoreditch and to the continued impact our flagship programme is having in this part of East London.
Northern Trust leading the way
Financial powerhouse Northern Trust joined ELBA November 2009 and already their commitment to the community has been fantastic. Volunteers have completed two team challenge projects at Leaders in the Community and Old Ford Housing’s Tredegar Community Centre and four additional projects have been confirmed for the coming months.
Leaders in the Community is a group of young adults aged between 18-25 from Tower Hamlets and Newham who have come together as active members to create a youth-led voluntary organisation. This group of inspirational young people team recently moved into Poplar HARCA’s St. Pauls Way “Café Reconnect” premises, where they are running the café and providing sessions for service users. The centre is used by all age groups in the community and it desperately needed a revamp making it more presentable and a warm and welcoming environment. The team of volunteers from Northern Trust spent two days refreshing and decorating the building and even redesigned the furniture in the café area, working towards a theme of “Starbucks in the Community”. By the end of the second day the centre had been transformed into bright, vibrant, warm and inviting space for the whole community.
Momtaz Begum, Project Coordinator at Leaders in Community, was impressed with the work: “They did a truly amazing job, all our young people will be very pleased to have a new look centre to use. We are very proud of the finish.”
Old Ford Housing Association has over 4,000 homes concentrated in the Bow area of Tower Hamlets and runs a comprehensive community development programme. Tredegar Community Centre, a multi-purpose, multi-cultural community centre provides a range of services to enhance the life chances of the local community, including welfare rights advice, women’s ESOL classes, non-contact boxing, social mornings and bingo. Armed with decorating tools and materials an enthusiastic team of volunteers from Northern Trust team did an amazing job applying 15 litres of paint and filling a large skip with unwanted rubbish and overgrown weeds. In one day, the dedicated team transformed the centre and gave it a new lease of life.
Mark Shaw, Northern Trust project team challenge leader said:
“We had a really rewarding day at Tredegar Community Centre and the 19 volunteers were made to feel so welcome. The sense of achievement, teamwork and camaraderie, together with having an opportunity to support the communities in which we live and work, was outstanding.”
