Development Report

Welcome to the brand new St Margaret’s House development report. With each report we aim to bring you an insight into the work which we do and how St Margaret’s House Settlement continues to serve the Tower Hamlets Community.  We are really pleased with our recent progress and with the focus we now have on the environmental, social and economic outcomes of the work we do. We are a small team and hope to show you just how busy and useful St. Margaret’s House is in this report.

Interns & Volunteers Project

Launched in November 2010 our internship programme is going from strength to strength. We have recruited four new interns to our development team on a part-time basis: each intern works between one to two days a week. The interns work closely with the development team and are heavily involved in the day-to-day running of our charity. With opportunities including events co-ordination, PR  & Marketing, retail and office administration they provide much needed support to our busy team and gain valuable work experience along the way. We now have an interns and volunteers handbook to support this.In fact our internship programme is so successful that it has led to full time employment for some of those whom have passed through its’ doors.

“ I began my journey at St Margaret’s as a volunteer in The Gallery Cafe, it was an exciting time and I learnt a range of new skills that have helped me develop my confidence. I am now part of the interns scheme working both in the St Margaret’s Office and the cafe. The thing I like most about my job is that no two days are alike, there are so many things to do and if you work hard and carve out your own niche at St Margaret’s it can be the most rewarding experience. I don’t think there is a more diverse place you could possibly work and I am delighted to be part of it.”- David.

We intend to fund raise specifically to support the intern programme and improve our high standard intern and volunteer management scheme. 

All our heating systems are now energy efficient. Our 10:10 pledge to reduce our energy consumption by 10% in 2010 is achievable. Repairs and renewals to roofs and windows mean we can look winter in the eye.Over the past few years we seem to have been in a perpetual cycle of works to the fabric of these buildings, particularly the Georgian terrace. We still have a way to go with minor works but all the major works are done.
During this year we have had 90% to100% occupancy of all our offices, meeting rooms and halls.

Our community shops are going from strength to strength and we have now begun to develop ways to run collaborative projects between the two. This Autumn will see the launch of our  ‘Create Ayoka’ styling events. These will be late night customer events run on the third Thursday of every month aimed at inspiring people to use a creative approach to recycling clothes. A fashion stylist will be on hand to show customers hints and tips on how to make old new items look as good as new. They will then be invited to join the team at The Create Place to use the sewing machines to alter clothing and make it into their very own unique customised garment. Our aim for the events is to start a positive movement within the community towards re-thinking items before they are thrown away and have a positive impact on waste reduction within Tower Hamlets.

In addition we have struck up regular partnerships with local charities to donate excess clothing which cannot be sold through our shop. The first partnership to mention is with the Mosaic Clubhouse, an opportunity centre for individuals recovering from mental ill health. To support their access to employment scheme  Ayoka has donated suits, ties and shirts for individuals to wear to interviews, improving their chances of employability. We have also started donating excess children’s clothing to the Spitalfields Crypt Trust a support, rehabilitation and training facility for  people facing problems of homelessness, alcohol, drugs, poverty or social isolation.We aim to develop more complimentary partnership to support the work which we do.  

Cafe & Cafe Events

The food at the Gallery Cafe is renowned across London and has been featured in a number of review sites including The Stylist and Time Out London. Our daily specials are excellent and people travel from far and wide for our range of vegan and vegetarian food which is always plentiful and varied. The cafe is now a very popular live venue offering music, comedy, spoken word and film in addition to our monthly art exhibitions which are a staple on the Time Out First Thursdays map.  

Both The Gallery Cafe and our community shops are shining examples of how St Margaret’s House seeks to serve our local community.