St Hilda's East News 2020
DECEMBER
Funding update
In terms of funding, since our last update in November, we have been working on our corporate "offer" or pitch, to think about how we can engage more sponsors and partnerships in 2021, perhaps from amongst our Guild and CLC contacts! On that note we are also thinking on how we can deepen our links with CLC and the Guild in 2021 generally, with a view to working together to bring out the rich history that forms such an important part of our identity. Finally we also have a Just Giving campaign to support our projects into Christmas and beyond. Please see the link below if you'd like to find out how you can get involved.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sthildaseast
Paul Eyres
Head of Funding
(m) 07950 260157
LATE NOVEMBER
Dear Guild Members
Once again, hello, and thank you for the opportunity of updating you on the work at St Hilda’s East in Shoreditch, London.
Nearly Christmas and, at last, it looks like things are easing up with COVID with news of the Vaccine… Hurrah! We are looking forward to a return to some sense of normality as we come out of Lockdown 2.0 and the Team have, once again, pulled out all the stops to support, particularly, the elderly and vulnerable in Tower Hamlets with Food supplies and phone calls/visits to reduce the sense of isolation during this time.
We have had a good response to our request for an additional Guild Trustee to join the Board of St Hilda’s East, with a focus on experience in Property and/or Finance, so Thank You! for that and we look forward to seeing the outcome of the Guild appointment process in due course.
Also it was a great pleasure to be invited by Olga Senior to attend the online Guild Executive Committee Meeting on Saturday 7th November to see how Guild operates and meet all the Guild Representatives, as well as the Principal and some of the staff team, such as Caroline and Rebecca and then share a little of my background and vison for St Hilda’s East going forward including my desire to see the relationship between CLC/Guild and St Hilda’s grow even more and build on the 130 year association between the College and the Charity.
Thank you for your time taken to read this and engage with the work of St Hilda’s and we look forward to updating you again soon…
Kind regards
Matthew Band
Director
Funding update
In terms of funding, I am delighted to report an exciting new partnership with Broadgate and British Lands, who have designated St Hilda's East as their Charity Partner this year for their Christmas Digital Giving Tree - please see images. They are also potentially interested in giving us project specific support. Likewise Credit Agricole, who have been a long time supporter of ours, will be pitching our Old People's Project Christmas campaign to their staff to raise funds, and hopefully providing other support as well.
To maximize these contributions we will be setting up a Just Giving campaign for the run up to Christmas and beyond and we would be thrilled to have Guild members support it. Details to follow soon- watch this space!
Paul Eyres
Head of Funding
(m) 07950 260157
Update from the frontline
A warm hello from the Project Team at St Hilda’s East!
It has been an extraordinarily busy time for us during the last six months however with your dedicated support, we are pleased to say that we have been able to continue services for children, families and young people and we really stepped up our support for the elderly and more vulnerable people. With the Winter season almost here our thoughts turn towards what Christmas may hold for those people who are feeling even more lonely and isolated and how we can ensure our beneficiaries continue to feel safe and well cared for into the new year.
In addition to the immediate health crisis response, the projects continue to evolve to meet beneficiary need in new and interesting ways. Recent developments include the early beginnings of a literary Programme, a Bike Club for local children and families and an international pen pal initiative for the elderly so watch this space in the coming months!
More than anything, the project team anticipate that wonderful moment when we can open our front doors and welcome everyone back to our lovely Community Centre here in Bethnal Green!
Zoe Eccles
Deputy Director, Projects & Strategy
EARLY NOVEMBER
Dear Guild Members
Once again, it’s a privilege to able to talk to you and let you know more about life at St Hilda’s East!
We already have strong links with the Guild and CLC, due to our shared 130 years history, and the pioneering spirit of Dorothea Beale, CLC Principal, who established the Charitable Settlement in Shoreditch East London, which is still alive and active today, and we are keen to grow this relationship further by recruiting a Trustee from Guild who can contribute their skills, time and experience to the Charity and see our work at first-hand.
Property/Facility experience would be very welcome but also anyone with Financial skills, as these are 2 key areas for the Charity. However, a willing heart and a level head would also be appreciated. Click here to see the advert.
This week we enter the 2nd Lockdown but as always endeavour to maintain our support for the local community of Tower Hamlets, particularly the elderly and vulnerable and look forward to a time when things return to ‘normal’.
Likewise, I wish you all well in these current times, as we now look towards the Christmas period and beyond…
Thank you!
Matthew Band
Director
OCTOBER
Dear Guild Members
Once again thank you for the opportunity of sharing an update on life at St Hilda’s East with you!
Although impacted by the second wave of COVID restrictions, we have continued to serve the local community in Tower Hamlets, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, who are still experiencing a sense of isolation and difficulties in accessing basic services, and our Team have been fantastic in distributing food items to those most in need and contacting them directly to chat and make sure that they are healthy, in both mind and body.
Challenging times but we have some good news in that we have been able to recruit our new Head of Funding, Paul Eyres (see bio below), who comes with significant community fundraising experience and will initially focus on maximising the return on our Facility at Club Row in Shoreditch, through increased Tenancies, whilst also making St Hilda’s a Hub for local charities, who in turn reach out and have an impact on the local community.
We are hoping to raise funds for a new lick of paint and carpets, which will hopefully make the space more welcoming and attractive to our new tenants and service users, as well as a better office environment for our staff.
Anyway thanks, once again, for taking the time to read the update on St Hilda’s East and if you would like more information on the Charity and its links to CLC and the Guild then please do not hesitate to contact myself, Zoe or Paul at St Hilda’s mail@sthildas.org.uk or through your Guild Representative, Malini McCauley.
Matthew Band
Director
Paul Eyres
Paul joins us this month with a background as a Fundraising Manager and a Director.
He has the experience of facilities usage and lettings, classic fundraising and bid writing at a strategic level.
His fundraising approach is focused on long-term community building which saw success at Blighty Women’s Project (a North London Charity) by being able to build a sense of community and belonging, which in turn brought in more investment and additional capacity for partnerships. He also has extensive experience in raising money from High Net Worth Individuals and events management; from project managing multiple music events to organising international comedy fundraising events... something new and exciting to look forward to here at St. Hilda’s!
Paul Eyres - At a school in Rwanda establishing Blighty Women's Project
St. Hilda's East Community Centre
SEPTEMBER
Please read our latest St Hilda's East Newsflash by clicking here to download, which includes a Welcome from the new Director, Matthew Band, an update on our Covid-19 response, a 'thank you' for your ongoing support, and more!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us on mail@sthildas.org.uk.
JULY
As the lockdown measures ease, St Hilda’s is getting ready to open its doors and welcome back its beneficiaries into our centre. Our once-busy Food Co-op will be taking in limited numbers of customers at a time, while our LinkAge Plus and Over 50’s Feeling Good! Projects will be holding activities outside as well as smaller sessions inside. We are also trialling a “hybrid” model wherein we run the session in-person and online at the same time, allowing those who do not have internet access the chance to enjoy the activity! You can see what we’re up to by following us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sthildaseast
As we get ready to welcome more beneficiaries, volunteers and visitors back into the centre, we also look forward to some events that are now able to take place (at a safe distance!) One of those is the London Legal Walk which has been postponed to the 5th October. If you are interested in taking part or would like to sponsor a walker from the St Hilda’s Team, please get in touch with us at andrea@sthildas.org.uk. Last year we raised over £10,000 to support our award-winning advice service, and hope to raise even more this year! Any contribution, small or large, is greatly appreciated and will ensure we can keep this high quality service running.
130th Anniversary Reception & Thank you!
Thanks to your support and generosity, we were able to raise over £126,000 in our anniversary year, ensuring we can continue our much-needed work for years to come. As Guild members will know, we were hoping to postpone the anniversary reception to when it is safe to do so, and are now hoping to set a date in November 2020. When we have this finalised, we will be in touch with Guild members (for those who are subscribed to our Newsflash) once we have a date set. The health and safety of our service users, visitors and staff remains paramount to the organisation and so making sure we can run this event safely is still our biggest priority.
If you have any questions about this event please don’t hesitate to contact us at mail@sthildas.org.uk - we look forward to welcoming you, in whatever way that might look like, to our centre soon!
MAY
St Hilda’s East Community Centre Local Support Hub
The COVID-19 virus has affected how we live our daily lives, interact with one another, and has greatly impacted the way we deliver our services at St Hilda’s East. As such, there became a growing need to adapt our support for those in our community. With the support of Tower Hamlets Homes, St Hilda’s East has launched a Local Support Hub, to ensure the immediate needs of residents across Tower Hamlets are met during this time of uncertainty. In early April, St Hilda’s officially launched its Hub, supporting over thirty-five residents in the first week of its operation.
St Hilda’s pulled together its staff, diverse in skills and knowledge of the local area and the community’s varying needs, to ensure support could be initiated as soon as possible. The organisation’s Food Co-op Coordinator has taken on the “food shop and drop” aspect of the Hub, with the support of eight volunteers. This takes place weekly in replacement of our Food Co-op, which cannot currently run. Volunteers are given a list of residents within a postcode of Tower Hamlets, and the groceries. With the appropriate PPE, volunteers will then travel by bike, motorbike or car, to safely deliver the food shopping. Residents are phoned prior to the delivery, so they are aware of who is delivering their shopping.
Working with the Volunteers’ Centre, St Hilda’s has received the support of twelve volunteers, working both in the preparation and delivery of meals, as well as buying and delivering groceries. The volunteers, all locally-based across the borough, are diverse in ethnicity, gender, age, and profession, and bring with each of them a huge amount of value to the work we are doing. From a pastry chef to a Cab driver, the Hub could not have run without the skill sets brought by each volunteer. Collaborating with East London Cares, residents are receiving over the phone support and those who would like activity packs will receive them in the post. Welfare checks are being done on a bi-weekly basis, so that residents who may not need food or meal support still have someone to chat to.
Ensuring residents have access to a nourishing and balanced meal is paramount to the way we operate and the menus we choose. We have prepared Bangladeshi food for residents, as well as sandwiches, fresh fruit and veg, and snacks such as jelly. Dietary requirements are also being met, and staff and volunteers are fully trained with Food Hygiene and Safety Level 2.
St Hilda’s East has now worked with over 234 residents and is grateful for the invitation made by THH to set up such an important and valuable support hub for residents. Although we hope this situation will subside and members of the community can go back to their daily lives, we will continue to support as many residents as possible through our Hub.
APRIL
We hope you are keeping safe and well during this time of uncertainty.
Please read our latest St Hilda's East Newsflash by clicking here to download, which explains a little bit about how our centre has responded to the current health crisis, an introduction to our new Director, and a round-up of how much money you've helped us raise for our 130th Anniversary Appeal!
MARCH
POSTPONED - 130th Anniversary Reception at St Hilda’s: March 19th 2020
In light of recent updates regarding COVID-19, we have decided to postpone the Anniversary Reception evening on the 19th March. It has no doubt encouraged myriad organisations and businesses to cancel or reschedule events, and we want to do the right thing. Given the multipurpose nature of our community centre, we believe postponement is the most sensible thing to do at this stage. We are following guidelines outlined by Public Health England
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-guidance
Please be reassured, we are very eager to go ahead with this event in the coming months, and we will keep you apprised of a new date as soon as we are able to. Once this date is set, we will of course draw the raffle then, so please keep hold of your raffle tickets (maybe with even more prizes to be won)!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Many thanks for your patience and support at this time.
FEBRUARY
130th Anniversary Reception at St Hilda’s: March 19th 2020
We are delighted to be inviting Guild members and our anniversary supporters to a special evening Reception on Thursday, 19th March 2020 at our centre in East London. There will be opportunities for networking, drinks and canapés, along with an exhibition of St Hilda’s East’s work and a screening of the charity’s brand new Anniversary film. We are delighted that both Eve Jardine-Young, Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, and Olga Senior, Chairman of Guild, will join us and speak. We currently have over 70 people attending, which includes Guild members, CLC parents, our Trustees, and corporate partners, and would love it if you’d like to join us.
This event will be a wonderful way to meet old Guild friends and new ones! Our centre is situated in the heart of Shoreditch, near Liverpool Street, and is minutes away from notable restaurants such as Shoreditch House, Dishoom, Lyle’s and Rochelle Canteen – providing some great spots for dinner after coming along to the reception evening.
This event is free, and we are selling £10 raffle tickets, with the chance to win some fantastic luxury prizes. You can book your place and purchase raffle tickets here: https://bit.ly/37k88ls
This event will be our final chance to fundraise towards our 130th anniversary appeal; we have an ambitious target of raising £130,000 before April 2020, and so far, have raised £87,029.42. This is a fantastic achievement, but we hope to reach our target at the reception evening in March!
If you would like to keep up to date with what we’re getting up to in the months ahead, please do follow us on our social media accounts:
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2x18XQx Twitter: https://bit.ly/2XqcnLo & website: www.sthildas.org.uk. We’re using the hashtag #StHildasEast130 so please do spread the word!
St Hilda's East Winter Newsflash - click here to download
JANUARY
130th Anniversary Reception at St Hilda’s: March 19th 2020
Guild members and our anniversary supporters are invited to a special evening Reception on Thursday, 19th March 2020 at our centre in East London. This reception evening, starting at 6:30pm, will have opportunities for networking, drinks and canapés, along with an exhibition of St Hilda’s East’s work and a screening of the charity’s brand new Anniversary film. We are delighted to announce that both Eve Jardine-Young, Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, and Olga Senior, Chairman of Guild, will join us and speak.
This event will be a wonderful way to meet old Guild friends and make new ones! Our centre is situated in the heart of Shoreditch, near Liverpool Street, and is minutes away from notable restaurants such as Shoreditch House, Dishoom, Lyle’s and Rochelle Canteen – providing some great spots for dinner after coming along to the reception evening.
This event is free, but we are selling £10 raffle tickets, with the chance to win some fantastic luxury prizes. From a fishing experience to champagne tea at The Dorchester, there are prizes for everyone! If you would like to purchase raffle tickets, please get in touch either with Andrea Shortell at andrea@sthildas.org.uk or with Caroline Harris in the Guild Office. If you are unable to make it on the night, please still do purchase raffle tickets as we can liaise with you should you win. It is a great way to help support us in our 130th year!
St Hilda's East have set up an EventBrite page for people to sign up if you would like to attend (free but the raffle option is there as well): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/st-hildas-east-130th-anniversary-reception-tickets-85834735003?utm_term=eventurl_text
If you would like to keep up to date with what we’re getting up to in the months ahead, please do follow us on our social media accounts:
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2x18XQx Twitter: https://bit.ly/2XqcnLo & website: www.sthildas.org.uk. We’re using the hashtag #StHildasEast130 so please do spread the word!
If you are interested in attending on March 19th and / or supporting this event, please not hesitate to get in touch with Andrea Shortell at: andrea@sthildas.org.uk or on 020 7739 8066.
St Hilda's East 130th Anniversary Newsflash - click here to download