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At the heart of Hammersmith for 400 years.

Giving older people homes for life in beautiful, affordable almshouses. Investing in the future through grant-giving. And raising the voice of our community to make it stronger.

Making exercise affordable for all

Women Aid and Empowerment brings people together through Zumba.

From park runs to salsa classes, group exercise is a great opportunity to socialise, get fit and have fun. However, monthly membership fees can make exercise unaffordable for people on a low income. What’s more, as Hanna Teffera shares, “Many people find going to the gym difficult for other reasons, including subtle racism, ageism, body shaming, or the pressure to keep up with high-intensity classes that are too challenging for people with mobility difficulties or reduced fitness.”

Women Aid and Empowerment

To address these barriers, Hanna partnered with two other women to set up Women Aid and Empowerment. She explains, “We decided to set up our own community interest company after hearing that a popular programme, which offered free fitness classes for women in White City, was closing. We realised that most of the women in our community are economically disadvantaged and would struggle to afford to join a gym. They were very upset about losing the free classes as this was often their only opportunity to exercise and socialise with other people.”

The CIC now runs classes in Zumba, chair-based yoga and chair-based exercise at three locations in Hammersmith & Fulham, including White City Community Centre. Unlike most exercise classes, these ones are free and welcome people of all abilities. Hanna is a professional fitness instructor so leads the classes. One participant, Eunice, says, “Hanna’s chair-based exercises have been a game-changer for me! Her classes are not only accessible but also incredibly effective. I’ve noticed significant improvements in my strength and flexibility, all while having a great time.”

Crucially, the classes also give people the chance to socialise afterwards. Hanna shares, “I have a lot of retired and widowed people attending. Many used to be active but had become ill or disabled. Some had become isolated in their home. Since coming to the class, their health has improved and so has their loneliness, as they feel that they have somewhere to go. They talk after class, meet up with each other and feel more connected with their community.

“For instance, one lady was very lonely. All her children had left home so she was by herself. Because of our class, she has found a best friend. Another lady became very depressed after losing her son. Doing exercise and seeing other people has really helped her.”

Participants have also reported other health benefits, including improved sleep and reduced stress.

One regular participant, Joanna, shares, “Hanna’s exercise sessions are a fantastic way to socialise and meet new people! Her warm and welcoming approach creates a friendly atmosphere where everyone feels included. Not only do we get a great workout, but we also have the opportunity to connect and build friendships. I’ve loved getting to know others while staying active, and Hanna’s positive energy makes every session enjoyable. It’s the perfect blend of fitness and fun.”

Find out more

Women Aid and Empowerment runs Zumba, chair-based yoga and chair-based exercise classes at:

White City Community Centre
Matthew Hall Community Centre
Acton Vale
Chiswick Town Hall

For more details and to book, visit https://waelondon.org/ or contact Hanna on h.teffera@yahoo.co.uk, 07383 117676.

Age UK Hammersmith & Fulham’s Shopping Service help older people to retain their independence and social life.

According to Age UK, almost one million older people in the UK often feel lonely. Without the social structure of a workplace or chatter at the school gate, it can be all too easy to go for days without speaking to another person.

Age UK Hammersmith & Fulham helps to bring older people together. From a lunch club costing just £2, to bingo, a music club, arts & crafts activities and yoga, there are a wide range of weekly activities to choose from.

The Shopping Service

Loneliness can be particularly difficult for people with mobility issues who struggle to leave their house so can’t reach the charity’s activity centre. For these people, the charity’s Shopping Service provides a crucial lifeline, helping them to retain their independence and meet up with friends.

Jordan, the minibus driver, and Noel, a volunteer, pick clients up from their homes and take them to the supermarket. Some clients are accompanied by a care worker or family member, but most are happy to travel on their own as Jordan and Noel are on hand to help with wheelchairs and can offer assistance in the supermarket if people need it. Many of the charity’s clients would otherwise be unable to do their own shopping, and for some, this could be the only time they leave the house. As one client, John, shares, “Getting out for that morning has been the highlight of my week.”

Richard Ashe is the Fundraising Manager at Age UK Hammersmith & Fulham. He says, “The Shopping Service is vital for our housebound and disabled clients. Some of these clients used to come to our activity centre. They’d come for lunch or a yoga lesson for example, but bit by bit, their mobility has deteriorated, or other circumstances have come up, which means they now can’t attend. The Shopping Service gives clients a bit of normality back.”

Social interaction

Groups of around eight clients travel to the supermarket together at the same time each fortnight. As a result, they get to know one another. As Richard says, “It creates a little community. Everyone’s chatting. It seamlessly blends social interaction with a core life activity.”

One client, Michael, shares, “I feel like I’m part of a group! One week I didn’t feel well enough to go shopping; the next, everyone said they had missed me. How lovely is that?”

Tailored to clients

Most weeks, the minibus heads to the ASDA Superstore, so people can buy clothes and other essentials as well as food. However, the service is guided by the clients. Richard shares, “Sometimes they want to do something different so will go to Sainsburys or Tesco, particularly if one of them needs something in particular.” The charity also surveys its clients regularly to check that they’re happy with the service and whether they want to change anything.

If a client needs extra support, for example because their carer is away, the charity can usually arrange for another volunteer to come along. Richard has accompanied them a couple of times himself.

The Shopping Service costs just £3 as it’s subsidised by Age UK Hammersmith & Fulham, with the help of a grant from Hammersmith United Charities.

Age UK Hammersmith & Fulham also offers a befriending service. The charity’s Volunteering Manager aims to match clients with volunteers who have similar interests. Richard says, “Some of them will go out to the theatre together. One pair sit down to have a good game of chess every week.”

In Hammersmith and Fulham, 40% of people over 65 live alone, and 25% have a long-term health problem. For those who need support, even if it’s just a friendly chat or the chance to meet new people, Age UK Hammersmith & Fulham provides a crucial service.

Find out more

If you want to find out more about the Shopping Service or volunteering, visit www.ageuk.org.uk/hammersmithandfulham

“Art class connects me to others through the simple pleasure of just enjoying playing with paints.”

Painting of two dogs against a purple background The Grove Neighbourhood Centre Folk Art Group has been running since the 1970s. To begin with, the group created decorative painted objects as seen on canal barges, but over the years it’s turned into a community of people who enjoy many forms of creativity. They’re led by art teacher Rachel Leach. While Rachel will often bring something along to inspire members’ creativity, there’s no pressure to follow a particular theme, so people will often just ask for her advice on a piece they’re working on or try something new. The group uses a variety of materials, including watercolours, acrylics and charcoal.

People are welcome to attend whether they’ve been painting for years or have barely picked up a paintbrush since their schooldays. Carey Whitley is Chair of the group and has been a member for 18 years. She shares, “When I first came, I was very nervous, because I’d been told at school, ‘’You can’t do art,’ and I believed it. I happened to go to a fete at the community centre and was attracted to the art group’s stall, which was vivid in colour. Colour always speaks to me, so I nervously went to a class and said, ‘Please don’t ask me to draw. I just want to play with colour.’ I spent the first three weeks just painting a colour wheel, which was great fun!”

Tackling loneliness through art

As well as helping people to improve their art, the group gives members the chance to socialise with other art lovers. Carey says, “We provide a place where it is easy to nurture new friendships, which often go beyond our weekly art sessions. It’s a very sociable group. Everybody is focused on what they’re working on, but we chat about art exhibitions that people may have been to, or something that may have inspired them, or how wonderful all the new spring leaves are, etc. It’s just nice to have a shared enthusiasm and interest that everyone can talk about, especially as around half of the group live alone and around 80% are retired.”

As one member says, “Art class connects me to others through the simple pleasure of just enjoying playing with paints.” Another artist attends partly because it’s, “a great place to meet new like-minded creative friends and revive my own artistic flair in pleasant surroundings.”

Many members of the group head to the pub together after each class, and some regularly visit the V&A. The group also goes on occasional outings and has attended summer courses in Devon and Somerset.

Photo shows a group of people in a large room. Each person is painting a picture.

Art for mental health

Art can benefit people’s mental wellbeing in a number of ways. According to the Mental Health Foundation, “Participating in the arts can enable people to deal with a wide range of mental ill-health conditions and psychological distress. The best part is that it helps people to improve their mental health through creativity. Making art is helping many people express themselves, without having to use words.”

Rachel shares, “One lady has just returned having had cancer and been homeless. She’s really suffered but she loves to come along, and she loves being with people, and it really, really helps her. It lifts her spirits.”

Hammersmith United Charities’ support

The Grove Neighbourhood Centre Folk Art Group has received a number of grants from us over the years, which it’s used to part-fund the cost of paying Rachel and hiring the neighbourhood centre. Carey says, “I don’t think that the group would have survived about four years ago if we hadn’t been able to get a grant.”

Thanks to our grants, the art group has been able to keep subscription costs affordable for members, some of whom would otherwise struggle to attend.

The need for the art group cannot be overemphasised. As one member says, “It’s inspiring and relaxing to make art surrounded by lovely people while having tea and biscuits!”

Find out more

The Grove Neighbourhood Centre Folk Art Group meets on Wednesday afternoons, 2.30pm – 4.30pm. Drop-ins are welcome and pay £7 – £10, depending on their income.

Grove Neighbourhood Centre
7 Bradmore Park Road,
Hammersmith, W6 0DT

“I cherish the lightness and banter between all us amateur artists; the encouragement and support from everyone has made a big difference to my confidence – and when I miss a class I really notice the difference.” A member of The Grove Neighbourhood Centre Folk Art Group

Stylised landscape painting done in bright colours

Celebrating Volunteers’ Week

It’s Volunteers’ Week, and we’re celebrating the contribution made by the thousands of people who help Hammersmith to thrive.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the voluntary and community sector. Without them, many charities simply wouldn’t exist and people wouldn’t get the support they need, whether that’s mentorship, financial advice, therapeutic support or a myriad of other services that volunteers provide, day-in, day-out across Hammersmith.

Victoria Hill, Chief Executive & Clerk to the Trustees at Hammersmith United Charities, says, “Last year, more than 2,000 people volunteered for the organisations supported by Hammersmith United Charities. Doorstep Library, for example, places volunteers at the very heart of its service. Almost 200 people volunteer through the charity to read books with children, helping to improve literacy and inspire a love of reading.

“In fact, every single one of our grant-holders relies on volunteers in one way or another. Hammersmith United Charities is no different. Volunteering is in our ethos. Many of our staff members and almshouse residents are themselves volunteers. I myself have volunteered as a Trustee of StreetGames and St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity for many years. In turn, I rely on the skills and guidance of our volunteer Trustees at Hammersmith United Charities.”

Our Head of Grants and Community, Paul Robson, regularly volunteers for Age UK Richmond upon Thames. He visits older people in their homes to help them fill in forms to get Attendance Allowance, a Blue Badge or a Freedom Pass.

Paul says, “I volunteer because I get a big kick out of being helpful to people in a practical way. Benefit forms are really daunting if you are not used to them, so it is rewarding to use my skills to help. Also, I love chatting to the people I visit about their experiences of living in the area where I grew up.”

Paige Windust, our Grants and Communications Officer, shares, “Prior to working in the charity sector, I volunteered as a UKiset and Occupational English Test teacher at RefuAid, and as an administrator at Refugee Action, Kingston. I wanted to support individuals who were rebuilding their lives in the UK after experiencing forced migration, and did so by helping them prepare for a range of equivalency examinations in order to retrain in their chosen fields.”

The benefits of volunteering for charities and their clients

According to the Royal Voluntary Service, volunteering adds £4.6 billion to the economy per year.

Volunteers enrich charities in many ways. They share skills gained through their employment, education or life in general, and provide an extra pair of hands – often delivering services that the charity could otherwise not afford to run.

Stephan Wiedmer, Branch Manager at Crosslight’s Hammersmith office, says, “One of the benefits of volunteers is that they have time to really listen to clients. After meeting with a Crosslight volunteer, clients often tell us that it was the first time someone took the time to sit down with them and listen carefully to what they have to say. That makes such a huge difference.”

Many volunteers have lived experience of the issue that the charity is tackling. Volunteers can also provide new perspectives, opinions and approaches. They can help a charity to look at a problem from a different angle, gain a better understanding of the local community and identify opportunities to improve.

The benefits of volunteering for individuals

Of course, volunteers themselves also benefit from the time they spend supporting their community. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, use your existing skills, learn new skills, boost your CV and feel good about giving back to your community. As Paige says, “I learnt a lot about the real-life impact of humanitarian crises, and the skills I learnt helped me enormously in my job as a teacher, and later in the charity sector when working in a community as diverse as H&F.”

Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive of Royal Voluntary Service, says, “Volunteering is a very effective means to improve confidence and skills and show commitment to an organisation, helping both the employed and unemployed boost their employability and prospects.”

Finding the right volunteering opportunity

There are numerous volunteer roles available across London. Before you start your search, you may want to consider which issues you want to help to tackle, and the skills and interests you have to share. Whether you’re a whizz with spreadsheets, love cooking or football, or are great at problem solving, there will be a charity who would welcome your help. As Michael Angus, Director of Barons Court Project, says, “We’ve had volunteers in to teach drumming, yoga, creative writing, drama and all different things.”

You could support the strategic direction of a charity by becoming a Trustee, work directly with a charity’s clients as a mentor or adviser, or support a charity through admin, marketing, fundraising or similar work. You can also choose to give your time weekly, monthly, or on a one-off basis.

In short, whatever your interests, skills or availability, if you’re keen to volunteer, the perfect opportunity is waiting for you to grab it. Get in touch with local groups working in a sector that interests you, or find volunteering opportunities through:

Whatever volunteer role you decide to do, thank you!

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Sheltered housing

Grant making