We’re now H&F Giving!

Our new name reflects our purpose

We are delighted to announce that we have recently changed the name of our charity from United in Hammersmith & Fulham to H&F Giving to distinguish it from other local charities and clarify our role in the community.

Our place-based giving scheme was formed by 400-year old Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s Fulham Charity and Hammersmith United Charities to inspire people to devote the resources required to create a stronger borough. Led by Savraj Kaur we have distributed more than £400,000 in grants to local community groups and since March 2020. Furthermore, we has spearheaded fundraising encouraging the public to give more than £160,000 to fund urgent community need, including the Tech4Kids campaign to get 1,000 children in poverty their own laptops with connectivity, and the Big H&F Christmas Lunch delivery for hundreds of isolated senior citizens. Our creative project Humans of Hammersmith & Fulham has also been touring community venues since the beginning of 2020, featuring portraits and interviews of local people, that help dismantle prejudice and exclusion while inspiring belonging, discussion and sharing in the borough.

Towards the end of 2021 we took the decision to rebrand because our original name was beginning to hold us back. People seeking support or funding told us they found the name confusing; it didn’t make it clear that we are a separate charity from one of our founders. We want to make it as easy as possible for people seeking support to find and get it.

We chose the name H&F Giving because it encapsulates what we do and aligns with the growing network of giving schemes across London. Giving to charities and community groups and connecting people to give to causes that matter locally is at the heart of what we do. And so, H&F Giving better represents our rapid evolution, and helps ensure everyone can understand our unique role. It clarifies our aim of connecting the borough, so that every person and every generation has what they need to thrive in Hammersmith & Fulham.

Savraj Kaur BEM, Executive Director of H&F Giving, said:

“The idea of giving locally has developed so much in our borough. From awarding grants to local groups on the frontline to encouraging people to share what they have, it’s become central to the spirit of what we do. Now it isn’t just what we do but we’re called, and our warm and dynamic new brand is a representation of what we have grown to live and breathe daily.

I’d like to thank everyone who contributed their time and expertise to the project and say a special thank you to our outgoing trustee Michail Tzouvelekis. His clear direction and insight have helped to set us on the path to further growth and impact in the borough.”

With support from London Funders, we were able to fund the change and have Louise Kavanagh and Georgie Lowry to develop a distinctive new brand to support this change in name and wider identity. This included a logo and complementary materials, and a new strapline, vision, mission and values.

We will be applying this new brand identity to our website and other materials in the coming months; this will be achieved with corporate supporters Blueprint Partners and WebFX who are working with us to create an even better website in 2022.

We hope you like it as much as we do!

Announcing the Chair of the United in H&F Board

Joanna Kennedy has been announced as Chair of the growing place-based giving scheme in H&F

UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham Board have announced that Joanna Kennedy has been appointed to succeed Kevin McGrath as the Chair of the Trustee Board . She will lead the young charity through its next stage of development, with the aim of taking it to a mature and sustainable status which will help it make a noticeable impact on the Borough. Her tenure began on 11 August.

Announcing her appointment, Joanna said:

“I am very excited to be joining this Board at a crucial stage in the development of the charity. Place based giving schemes are an energising and cooperative development in the life of a borough and United in Hammersmith & Fulham has already made a big improvement in the lives of residents and I hope I can help it develop that work.”

Executive Director, Savraj Kaur, said:

“I am delighted to be working with Joanna, with her wealth of relevant experience and passion for the local area. I am sure that she will prove to be a strong leader at this very important time for us all.

The board thank trustee Julian Hillman who was Acting Chair since the charity’s first ever Chair Kevin McGrath DL OBE, stepped down in December 2021, and Deborah Xavier of member organisation London Funders who assisted in the hiring process.

You can read more about Joanna, at her profile link here.

 

Tech4Kids appeal – can you help us to reach our target?

[ First published by LBHF Council on 27 May 2021]

More than 1,500 local children and young people are still at risk of missing out on their schoolwork due to a lack of a device or required data.

That’s why Hammersmith & Fulham Council continues to ask for support for our Tech4Kids partnership appeal – in conjunction with local charity UNITED in H&F and local enterprise Ready Tech Go.

So far, local people, schools and businesses have given £22,000 towards a £159,000 target.

We call on you to give whatever you can, today:

  • £159 can provide a vital laptop with child safeguarding software
  • £20 can get an essential data sim card for internet access

Donate now

“If pupils don’t have the devices from the start, they’ll lose out. So, it’s really important that everybody has access to technology,” said Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr PJ Murphy.

Rest assured that 100% of money raised will ensure we get vital devices and internet connectivity to these young people who are most in need.

Alex, a pupil at Hammersmith Academy secondary school, said: “It’s not fair that children don’t have a laptop at home, they need it for their homework and to get good jobs in the future.”

Watch our campaign video

 

View the video transcript for our Tech4Kids appeal.

 

Are you a company or a foundation?

If you run or work for a local company or foundation, we encourage you to step forward if you can and help local children who are most in need. £10,000 can help to give the equivalent of two classrooms full of in-need children vital devices.

“Locally-based companies Agylisis and Immediate Media have been the first to fund this campaign with cash gifts. It’s really a case of better neighbours making better neighbourhoods,” said Savraj Kaur, Executive Director at UNITED, and co-founder of Ready Tech Go.

Please email Savraj at [email protected] to discuss a larger donation.

 

 

Faith leaders team up with H&F and charity to help out

[ First published by LBHF Council on 27 May 2021]

Leaders from the three faith communities in White City have pooled their energies and resources to support those struggling in the pandemic as a result of poverty and educational disadvantage.

Supported by grants from the Winter Wellbeing Fund – set up by Hammersmith & Fulham Council and administered by UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham – the new White City Interfaith Partnership has seen the leaders of the Church of England, Roman Catholic Church and Islamic communities come together.

“If we can work together, we can bring things into the neighbourhood that will lift everybody,” said the Rev Ben Humphries, vicar of the Church of St Michael and St George in White City.

Rather than focus on differences, the partnership’s aim is to show that more unites us as a community than divides.

Uniting those in need

The group has been providing emergency food packages to families for five years, with surplus supermarket food, UNITED funding and H&F Council’s Winter Wellbeing grant securing extra items for the hardest-pressed.

“If families can’t afford to buy food, then they’re not going to buy toothpaste it’s as basic as that,” said Mr Humphries.

Funding has ensured that essentials such as toiletries, cleaning products, sanitary items and food basics have been bought, with a focus on breakfast items to ensure children are not hungry before school. “That ought to make a big difference to what parents give our most vulnerable children,” he added.

Additionally, the partnership received around 70 boxes, each containing enough food to make a week’s worth of half-term lunches, for those on free school meals.

Winter Wellbeing helps 32 local projects

In total, the Winter Wellbeing fund has given £142,836 in grants to 32 different local projects, prompting UNITED executive director Savraj Kaur to thank everyone who has helped.

“Winter is always harder than any other time of year, and that is especially true for families experiencing additional hardship due to the past year’s crises,” she said. “We’re delighted that our young charity could partner with the council to help, and we will use this experience to help others in the coming year too.”

Cllr Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader of H&F Council, praised the hard work of the individual projects, and the fund administrators. “By helping to channel the grants to grassroots activities it could be used most effectively,” she said. “It’s been fantastic to see so many groups and communities come together to support all of H&F through the pandemic.”

Image 1

On the left is Church of St Michael and St George and on the right is an outing to Kew Gardens for some of the families involved with the Shepherds Bush Families Project

 

Community response

Others to have benefited from the grant programme include Dad’s House – a Fulham-based community charity that has worked in partnership with Solidarity Sports to supply food to those who need it and assist children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“A lot of the families did lose jobs, and through losing jobs, there was, unfortunately, a lot of family breakdown going along, side-by-side,” said Billy McGranaghan from the charity. A £5,000 grant covered the cost of winter bills for struggling families, including single dads. “UNITED and H&F Council’s partnership has been instrumental in helping us,” he said.

Another to benefit has been the Shepherds Bush Families Project. Awarded £9,000 from the Winter Wellbeing fund, it has been busily helping families caught between a lack of housing and high rent charges.

“For those with housing needs, the need has been really bad,” says Tina Mayers from the project. “It’s been really difficult to have three or four children in a one-bedroom flat, not being able to go out more than to do their daily exercise during the pandemic.”

Image 2

Billy McGranaghan (right) founder of Dad’s House

Volunteers’ Week 2021: Invitation for Local Groups to Request Help

 

We understand that the pandemic has stretched local non-profit groups immensely, and a few extra pairs of hands or skilled advisors can help a lot. That is why, with less than one month to go until Volunteers’ Week 2021, taking place 1-7 June, we’re encouraging groups to sign up to potentially be matched with staff volunteers from local company Immediate Media.

Local groups can complete a simple form to request volunteers for up to 1-1.5 days across 1-7 June via the online form, below, before Monday 17 May, 2021, midday.

This is not limited to requests for help with:

  • Gardening
  • Painting
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • CV Writing
  • Speed mentoring

Please note that a match is not guaranteed, as volunteers are limited and will be allocated on a ‘best fit’ basis by Immediate Media’s team.

More about Immediate Media

Immediate is a special interest content and platform company based in Hammersmith & Fulham. The fast-growing, multi-platform media business is home to over 1,000 people across eight divisions. You can find out more at their website here.

 


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Six local residents named as part of newly launched community grants panel

Photojournalist Cinzia D’Ambrosi and visually impaired campaigner Ramona Williams are among six local residents who have joined UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham’s new Community Grants Panel which pilots distributing decision making power to local people.

The place-based giving scheme’s first ever community panel will receive full training and go on as a group to make independent decisions to allocate pots of funding which support community initiatives for the next 18-months. Together, they will bring unique insights and represent the needs of people with their experience of diverse communities in the borough.

The full list of successful panellists (in alphabetical order) is below:

  • Cinzia D’Ambrosi
  • Iashia John
  • Louise Jones
  • Jeannetta Orton
  • Trey Campbell-Simon
  • Ramona Williams

All will work part time and be paid the London Living Wage for their training, and for assessing and distributing each round of grants, thanks to funding from City Bridge Trust.

Trey Campbell-Simon of Fulham, and the youngest of all the panellists, said:

“It fills me with immense pride to know that through this role I will be able to give back even more to the borough that has given so much me.”

Savraj Kaur, Executive Director of UNITED said:

“This panel is a vital step in helping us continue our mission to help make Hammersmith & Fulham an even better place to work, live and play. We are lucky to have these six incredible residents in our first cohort, who will no doubt bring great energy, independent thinking, and challenge and assure our grant making ways.”

A further announcement about applications for the first round of funding will proceed in the Summer months.

You can read more about each panel member at the link here.

Local frontline charities receive £130,000 from our Winter Wellbeing Fund

[First published by LBHF Council on 1 April 2021]

Another wave of grant aid to grassroots projects assisting local H&F residents during the pandemic means that more than £133,000 has now been distributed.

Image 1

Robert Mansur (pictured) from Bishop Creighton House

A further £50,000 has been paid out this month by the Winter Wellbeing Community Fund, set up by Hammersmith & Fulham Council and administered by UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham to channel government grant aid and private donations to where help is most needed.

Cllr Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader of H&F Council, said the Winter Wellbeing Community Fund was ‘making a real difference to those who need it most’.

The latest projects to benefit include Solidarity Sports, which works to boost the confidence of children recovering from chronic trauma.

It has been awarded £9,940 to support families in poverty with food essentials and utility bills, delivering care packages including toiletries as well as books, games and skipping ropes to engage with children.

Also benefiting from the most recent distribution is the charity Advance, which has received £10,000 to help women and girls facing domestic abuse in the borough.

If you need the support of Advance, please ring 020 8741 7008 or email [email protected]

Image 2

Pictured is a London Sports Trust basketball training session for kids

 

Other projects to receive funding are:

Bishop Creighton House providing essential food parcels, meals and support to those most in need in H&F. It has been given a £6,175 grant.

Community Education Forum has been given £5,000 for food for families on low income.

The Ethiopian Women’s Empowerment Group has received £5,922.50 to pay for food vouchers and support with utility bills.

Streetlytes, which is supported by the Shepherds Bush Housing Group, has been awarded £5,000 to help the homeless with drop-in facilities and hot meals.

London Sports Trust has been given £5,000 to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of deprived youngsters, while the Easter holiday club of the White City Interfaith Partnership has received £2,100 to provide lunches and healthy snacks.

Women’s domestic violence charity gets £10k grant

[First published by LBHF Council on 19 March 2021]

A £10,000 grant to London charity Advance is helping to change attitudes and make Hammersmith & Fulham a safer borough for women.

The grant from the charity UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham and H&F Council supports the work of an organisation set up in 1998 to campaign for an equal, violence-free world for women who have experienced domestic abuse.

Chief executive Niki Scordi said that Advance already works in partnership with many of the council’s departments, including housing and social care, and – in the last year alone – has assisted 7,000 women and children.

Niki believes that the issue of women’s safety is changing. “H&F is committed to helping, and provides wide-ranging services as well as reaching out to us,” she said, emphasising how the Advance charity had a much wider remit than women’s safety.

We support women

She said Advance works with the police, the court service, housing and social services, providing helplines and advice for people in need of support.

“We support women, children, specific communities with specific needs, female genital mutilation, sexual abuse, stalking, harassment and more,” she said.

While better street lighting and CCTV are all well and good, she added, the solution to the issue of women’s safety goes much deeper.

“Women are also assaulted in broad daylight, and in the home,” she said. “This goes well beyond wearing longer skirts… it’s about men changing their behaviour.”

Tackling violence against women

Cllr Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader of H&F Council, backs the work of the Advance charity, which was set up in the wake of a 1996 statistic that revealed there were just 10 convictions out of 2,000 reported cases of domestic abuse that year.

“It is vital that we work together with organisations such as Advance to tackle violence against women and girls. It is unacceptable that one in five women will experience some form of sexual abuse in their lifetime, and one in four women will be victims of domestic abuse,” she said, pledging H&F Council’s continued commitment to ending all forms of violence and ensuring that the borough remains a safe place for all.

Demand for support for women experiencing domestic abuse has increased fourfold during the pandemic, with 70% of those seeking help having children.

Financial support

The latest £10,000 grant, building on other financial support which the council has given, will also support women caught up in the criminal justice system or who are at risk of offending.

Savraj Kaur, director of the UNITED charity, said: “In the middle of Women’s History Month, Sarah Everard’s disappearance and murder sent shockwaves through the community, and raised feelings of trauma for many, many women and girls.

“We know there are local women in dangerous circumstances and we hope this £10,000 will help Advance’s all-women staff ensure those who seek urgent safety can access it without delay.”

If you need the support of Advance, you can ring 020 8741 7008, email [email protected] or visit the charity’s website.

 

Hammersmith debt advice charity and nine other groups get cash boost

[First published by LBHF Council on 4 March 2021]

Crosslight manager Stephan Wiedmer (pictured centre wearing ID lanyard)

 

Local groups to benefit from the latest wave of H&F Winter Covid Fund grants include a debt advice and support service for borough residents.

Crosslight, which is supported by St Paul’s church, Hammersmith, was set up nearly a decade ago to give help and information for those with debt problems.

A £200 grant from UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham and backed by H&F Council, means that the charity will be able to send stamped addressed envelopes to clients who haven’t the facilities to share documents electronically.

“We switched from face-to-face appointments to phone calls at the start of the pandemic,” said Crosslight manager Stephan Wiedmer. “This has worked well, but it can be a big problem for clients to share paperwork.”

He said that the grant from UNITED would make a real difference at a time when many more people in Hammersmith & Fulham are at risk of losing their jobs.

“Many people are suffering from lower incomes, and some of those currently on furlough are at risk of losing their jobs,” he said. “Landlords will be able to evict tenants again, and creditors will generally stop being so sympathetic. A lot of people are building up hidden debt by not being able to pay their rent and essential bills in full.”

He said that Crosslight was able to help residents negotiate repayment plans and prioritise what they spend their money on.” If you need help, call Crosslight on 020 7052 0318 or email [email protected]

 Image 2

Child playing a mandolin on a Music House for Children activity programme for parents with young children

H&F Winter Covid Fund

Since its launch last year, the H&F Winter Covid Fund has paid out more than £30,000 to frontline community projects.

Welcoming the latest wave of grants, H&F Council’s Deputy Leader Cllr Sue Fennimore said: “The growing debt crisis is one of the less visible effects of the pandemic, and the work of Crosslight and other local charities to assist those struggling to pay bills is very much appreciated.”

In the latest round of grants, a further £7,970 has been distributed. Anyone can contribute to the H&F Winter Covid Fund. Grants have been made to:

Age UK Hammersmith and Fulham – £500 for delivering cooked meals to older people shielding or with underlying health issues

Crosslight – £200 for postage and stationery for clients in debt and financial hardship

Family Friends – £980 to deliver a four-week digital programme of group engagement and wellbeing for families in H&F

Friends of Wendell Park – £1,000 for sport equipment to help tackle rising childhood obesity

Maggie’s West London – £1,000 to help continue to provide free essential cancer support

Music House for Children – £1,000 for a six-week musical activity programme for parents with young children

Notting Hill Genesis Housing Association – £540 for wellbeing activity bags for isolated people in H&F care homes

Play Association Hammersmith & Fulham – £750 for art and craft equipment for children and young people with complex needs

The Kids Network – £1,000 for weekly mentoring for 30 vulnerable 8 to 11-year-olds

The Upper Room – £1,000 for counselling people with mild to moderate mental health issues

 

The Upper Room chief executive, Nicky Flynn (pictured)

 

 

 

Ria sitting in the bike shop

Local groups to refer residents in need of a bike

[First published by LBHF Council on 27 January 2021]

Ria Moore (pictured) who founded Pedal Back Cycles with her partner Nikky Redford

Refurbished bikes are being offered in a bid to encourage more of us to cycle safely around the borough.

A partnership between a Fulham bike shop and a  local charity is spearheading an ambitious project to make professionally restored bicycles available for free.

Made possible by £10,000 of grant funding, the scheme will focus first on key workers responding to the Covid pandemic, such as care staff and delivery cyclists, as well as those looking for work. But if popular, the ultimate target is to provide more bikes to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds in H&F to cycle and walk safely.

Pedal Back Cycles based at 24 Lillie Road in Fulham and Hammersmith charity UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham have joined forces to channel cash from a walking and cycling grant programme into boosting cycling in the borough. Local residents in poverty who are referred by a trusted local organisation are eligible to receive the bikes.

Nikky Redford, who founded Pedal Back Cycles with her partner Ria Moore, said: “The grant money will help us turn a dream into reality – upcycling abandoned bikes and donating them to those most in need.

“The global Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that enabling people and communities to cycle is more important than ever, and the benefits are not just physical – cycling and access to bikes is mentally and socially transformative.

“We’ve always believed in making cycling as accessible as possible by being open, honest, approachable and fun.”

How it works

Local community groups can refer local adults to join a waiting list to receive a suitable bike when it becomes available as part of the reuse scheme.

When a match is found between budding cyclist and bike, they will be given free training to smoothly get back on the roads and will be invited to join a supportive cycling community.

The scheme has been welcomed by Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for the Environment. “This is an impressive example of collaboration between a charity and a cycle shop to increase cycling in the borough by first targeting the help to those who need it most,” he said.

The partnership is keen to get referrals to represent the borough’s diversity.

The grant aid of up to £10,000 over three years comes from TfL and the London Marathon Charitable Trust, via environmental regeneration charity Groundwork London. Find out more on the United in H&F website.

Savraj Kaur, Executive Director of UNITED in Hammersmith & Fulham, said: “We thank Transport for London and the London Marathon Charitable Trust for the opportunity to reach those who really need a bike, but might not otherwise be able to afford one.”