Helping people become healthier, wealthier and happier
With wellbeing at the forefront of our minds, we support residents to become healthier, wealthier and happier. We do this by taking a local approach and working in partnership so we can get closer to residents, listen to what they want, and deliver what they really need.
The Peabody Community Foundation (PCF) was set up in April 2016 to bring together our community investment activities. A team of 100 dedicated colleagues works in partnership with grassroots, local and national organisations to develop programmes and provide support that meet the needs of local people.
You can find out more in the Peabody Community Foundation Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.
“Our mission is to drive positive change, removing barriers to employment and improving health and wellbeing standards for residents and those living in local communities.”
Stephen Burns, Executive Director, Care, Inclusion and Communities.
Highlights:
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Invested £10m in local communities.
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Provided 48,000 hours of free activities.
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Opened 2 new community spaces.
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Awarded £220,000 worth of small grants to local voluntary and community groups.
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Raised £132,000 through events with partners.
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Created £12.7m worth of social value (benefits for residents) through our contractors and supplier.
Our work is focused on three priorities of helping residents become healthier, wealthier and happier. We maximise our impact by looking at communities as a whole and working with residents to deliver what they need. By addressing more than one issue at a time, we’re able to make the best use of our resources and assets, ensure we deliver value for money, and learn from our own experiences.
Helping local communities live well
Being healthy is not just about food and exercise. It's also about your wellbeing - how you feel emotionally, mentally and whether you feel socially connected. This can impact how you feel about yourself, your life, your surroundings and those around you. And because of this, the health and wellbeing of residents and those living in local communities is paramount.
During the year we worked with a wide range of partners to improve the health and wellbeing of residents and communities. These are some of the things we supported:
- A new park run on the Thames Path and cricked sessions in Thamesmead.
- The Beat the Street 'get people moving' campaign in West Reading.
- Holiday activities for vulnerable families in Bexley and Greenwich.
- A sewing club at Southall Day Centre.
- A programme to tackle loneliness in Thamesmead.
- Community engagement in plans for a new landscaped garden in Ealing.
Giving back to the community
Imogen, an NHS worker and resident of Cygnet Square, Thamesmead, is offering free acupuncture sessions in the local community after seeking help from the Community Properties team.
In December 2023, Imogen, a recently qualified acupuncturist, was struggling to find local space to set up her alternative healing sessions. After hearing that Peabody’s community spaces were available for hire, she enquired about the space at the Nest in Thamesmead.
Peabody offered her free space for six weeks. During this time, she worked with the Communities team to build her network in the alternative therapy community and get professional advice on how to make money to keep the project going.
Imogen’s free community acupuncture sessions are a great hit with local people. Imogen runs these alongside regular paid sessions.
Supporting opportunities to connect and learn
Financial resilience is an important part of life. But it’s something that’s hard for many people. By giving people better access to education, training opportunities and business support, they are able to broaden their horizons and achieve their goals.
During the year, we worked with a wide range of local and national partners. We combined funding, skills, experience and resources to offer the widest possible range of services, support and opportunities to residents and those living in local communities. Here are some of the things we supported:
- 237 local business to receive training and advice from our Business Forums.
- More than 100 local people to gain childcare qualifications.
- People of all ages in Hackney and Waltham Forest to study for a wide range of qualifications.
- Young entrepreneurs in Lambeth on a 12-week business support programme.
- Research to find out the root cause of issues facing young people in Brent.
- Training courses and advice sessions for young people on the YouthBuild programme who are at risk of being, or already are, socially excluded.
Nature inspires young people's film content
Nature is important for a lot of different reasons. And community group Mafia Weekend believe that if you combine it with storytelling, it can help to reconnect communities. So, 13 young Londoners put the theory to the test.
Working closely with Mafia Weekend, they created their own content inspired by their experience of the TUMP 53 Nature Reserve in Thamesmead. The film programme, which included creative writing workshops, physical warm-ups and discussion circles, was a pilot to test new approaches and processes.
It was run in partnership with Backyard Nature and Thames Water with support from the Social Innovation Fellowship with the aim of co-designing opportunities for young people
to access nature and their imaginations.
Delivering what's right for each community
Happiness is about feeling content and connected in your own space. It makes us better people and in turn, affects the lives of everyone around us. We work with partners and other local organisations to empower residents to get involved in their communities. We help them access funding, so together we can deliver what’s right for each community and encourage everyone to feel more connected and hopefully, happier.
During the year we distributed grants worth more than £220,000 to grassroots community groups, including:
- Thamesmead Community Fund: Helped 22 local community groups and partners to deliver a range of cultural and community projects that benefited local residents. Eight local people helped decide how the grants were awarded.
- Make it Happen Fund: Administered by Islington Giving with our support, the fund awarded grants of up to £500 to local people to fund things that they felt benefited their community. One example is Urban Forest Tribe, which provides outdoor education sessions for children with special educational needs.
- Black History Month (BHM) 365 Fund: Working with A2Dominion Housing Group and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, the fund provides grants of up to £1,000 for events, activities and projects celebrating Black history.
Bingo hits the spot again in West London
Long-time resident Barbara Claxton has reignited the beloved bingo tradition at the Old Oak Community Centre and shown how residents can shape local spaces.
The previously popular bingo sessions were forced to stop during Covid lockdowns. But with the support of the Community Investment team in North West London, Barbara, a regular visitor to the community centre, managed to get them running again.
She’s now even working to set the group up as a self-sufficient, volunteer-run organisation. To do this, they’re opening their own bank account and applying for funding from Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
The bingo revival is a great example of how, with the right support, a community’s resilience and the power of residents can help shape local spaces.
Looking ahead
As we look ahead to the coming year, our aim remains the same – to deliver the greatest possible value for communities and help people become healthier, wealthier and happier.
Our Community Strategy 2024-27 focuses on people. It sets out how we can help residents and communities to help themselves by listening, learning and making decisions together.
It looks at how we’ll help build strong communities where people have many ways to have a say about where they live and the services they receive. By combining our experience and resources with residents’ skills and passion, we’re confident we can help people thrive.