St Hilda’s East community centre was founded by Guild in 1889 and has an active link with College and Guild to this day.
At the time of its founding in nineteenth century Britain, the industrial revolution had created terrible urban poverty. The East End of London in particular grew quickly, becoming a place where people lived in overcrowded, badly-built housing and worked up to 18 hours a day manufacturing new commodities, such as matches and cheap clothing.
St Hilda’s East has changed immensely since its founding, but although the pioneering Guild members might not recognise the buildings now and would be surprised by many of the changes to the surrounding area, they would still recognise the aims of St Hilda’s East today: to combat deprivation and social exclusion through providing education and recreational provision along with social care — activities that enable and empower individuals.
If you would like to support St Hilda’s East, there are plenty of ways to get involved:
Volunteering as individual - support one of St Hilda’s East’s many projects including their Older People’s Project, Food Co-op, Youth Project or Creche, or provide general support as an administrator, driver, or as part of our support clinic.
Encourage your company to get involved as a one off - corporate teams helping out for a day and supporting individual events, outings or even getting stuck in with a paintbrush.
Commit to longer-term corporate support - can your company support us with voluntary IT skills training, pro bono legal advice, HR support, event planning, fundraising or mentoring?
Become a Friend of St Hilda’s East - a one-off or regular donation can help St Hilda’s East to fund their everyday activities in the community and sustain themselves for the future.
