Development Report

St. Margaret's has been a busy place this year in terms of developing new initiatives.

More resident users have joined St. Margaret's over the last year. Quaker Social Action, a charity working to tackle poverty and social exclusion in East London since 1867; Destiny, a group advising and mentoring local young musicians; and Urban Youth, a youth community project offering a range of holistic services for young people aged between 9 and 19.

The Gallery Café has certainly been a focus and we have tried to raise the profile in many ways. Exhibitions by local artists are ongoing, organised now by a volunteer curator. The exhibitions are part of Time Out's First Thursday initiative, whereby local venues open their doors late to the public on the first Thursday of the month. Music events are becoming more frequent and more widely advertised. Again, local musicians are given the spotlight once a month on a Friday evening. Newsletters are produced for the Café once a month, keeping customers informed of events. We are keen to promote the Café as a local meeting place and generate funds for in-house projects.

Two new shops have been conceived and opened - Ikosi, a retro clothes and second hand shop supporting the local Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre, and Bilan, a shop run by B2B Somali Arts and Education, selling Somali arts and crafts. The official opening of both came at our Annual Garden Party in August, when the mayor cut the ribbon. Both shops are currently doing well and raising much needed funds for their respective charities. They are also providing local places of interest, information points and introducing a vibrancy to this part of the East End which is very welcome.

At the beginning of the year concerns were raised about the number of people using the Activity and Retirement Centre (ARC), an in-house project working with local retired people. In recent years membership had begun to fall away and, in order to address this, we needed new activities and new members. We heard about the University of the Third Age (U3A), a nationwide organisation aimed at retired people and those no longer in full time employment, who wish to take part in educational, creative and leisure activities. People from all backgrounds are invited to run groups according to their own skills and interests. We decided to instigate a Tower Hamlets branch, based at St. Margaret's House and we have been fortunate in finding active, local people who wish to participate. The slogan goes, "It's where the teachers learn, and the learners teach". Current activities include Philosophy, Bollywood Dancing, Jazz Appreciation, Book Clubs, Gardening and Tai Chi, to name but a few. In short, attendance at the ARC facility has doubled, lots of new activities are on offer and around 50 new members are signed up.

The achievements this year have made a real difference. St. Margaret's has opened up considerably to the wider community and I would like to thank the trustees, the staff and the users for the tremendous enthusiasm and support given to this work over the last year. Long may it continue!