Societyin am ## **Contents** |Foreword from the Chair|2| |---|---| |Project Manager’s report|2| |About SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets|3| |SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets in 2022/23|5| |Outcomes at a glance: 2022/23|6| |A year in figures: what we’ve achieved|6| |Financial statement|7| |Community services|8| |Training hub|12| |Women’s services|13| |Youth services|15| |Staff, Management Committee and volunteers|18| |Partners and funders|19| |Annual accounts|20| ~~1~~ ## **Foreword from the Chair** This year has been a huge success for SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets and I feel proud to have been part of its leadership team. SocietyLinks has delivered a wide range of exciting projects that have achieved excellent outcomes. Our work in the City of London with Afghan families particularly stands out. It showcased the depth of skill among the staff and their passion and dedication to help others and improve life opportunities. This year we also saw the departure of our long-standing Director and Management Committee member, Abdul Hoque Habib. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours and thank him for his time and dedication during his time with us. I look forward to another year of innovative ideas and success stories in 2023/24 and am excited to see how SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets continues to develop. ## _**Sharon Barbour**_ ## **Project Manager’s Report** We have had an exciting year starting our City of London youth projects and taking on the delivery of the resettlement programme with Afghan families. Both of these were fantastic opportunities that allowed us to display our strengths in understanding the community and residents’ needs, and tailoring services to meet their needs. Our staff were able to break down barriers, form positive relationships, and have successful engagement with hard-to-reach children and young people facing complex issues and trauma. We created a video in celebration of our achievements and the outcomes achieved by our Afghan service users during their time with us that we hope to share more widely this year. The coming year will see the launch of our interactive cooking programme, funded by Global Make Some Noise. This exciting project will enable us to reach a very wide spectrum of families and produce robust, positive outcomes. We have prioritised specific issues to tackle next year, one of them being isolation among the elderly and parents of young children. We will also be focusing on increasing services for men having identified a need for this locally. I look forward to another busy year, working with existing and new service users, supporting them to access new opportunities. _**Joyce Archbold**_ ~~2~~ ## **About SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets** SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets is a vibrant community-based charity located in a community building on the Whitechapel Peabody Estate. Our mission is to address the needs of underprivileged local residents through creating opportunities and providing practical support. Our projects and services aim to empower local people to achieve tangible, positive change in their lives and those of their families. Our vision is to be a sustainable pillar within the community, providing ongoing services for all residents and developing innovative, new projects to meet the changing needs of the local population. We aim to engage with local residents and build their confidence, capacity and wellbeing. We want to show them the wealth of opportunities around them and how they can connect with these. SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets works in partnership with other organisations to maximise our efficiency and output. We deliver services across the borough from a variety of venues and reaching out to neighbouring boroughs. ## _**Core values**_ SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets actively challenges discrimination and welcomes residents from all sections of the community regardless of their race, gender, disability, sexuality, religion, and political and cultural beliefs. The core values of SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets are as follows: 1. We value the residents of Tower Hamlets as an ethnically diverse community with rich experiences and high human potential. 2. We aim to support residents to: - a) Help one another to live more fulfilling lives by securing better futures - b) Live healthy lives in a safe and comfortable environment - c) Participate in the life of the community - d) Take part in education, training, and recreation opportunities - e) Secure decent housing, employment, and an adequate income. 3. We endeavour: - a) To be accountable and responsive to residents - b) To be flexible and innovative in the delivery of quality services - c) To work in partnership with other agencies whenever possible and appropriate - d) To oppose discrimination on grounds of race, religion, gender, age, sexuality and disability. ## _**A brief history of SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets**_ SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets was established in 2010. Its founders were passionate about offering opportunities to disadvantaged people in the local community to help support them to achieve better outcomes for themselves. The service began with the delivery of youth services and English classes for beginners and was run wholly through the time and efforts of dedicated volunteers. This enabled SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets to develop a foundation within the community and start applying for funding to increase its services and deliver other projects to meet the needs of the service users. Over the years the services have developed according to the needs of the locals and SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets is now a firm pillar in the local community. ~~3~~ ## _**Legal status**_ SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. The management constitutes two directors and a Management Committee made up of 11 members with an appointed chairperson, secretary and treasurer. A list of all Management Committee members can be found at the end of this report. ## _**Constitution**_ SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets’ constitution sets out the following objectives: 1. To advance education and training for people in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 2. To reduce unemployment in such ways as may be thought fit 3. To promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society 4. To promote equality and diversity for the public benefit by, for example: - a) Eliminating discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religion - b) Advancing education and raising awareness of equality and diversity - c) Promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds - d) Conducting or commissioning research on equality and diversity issues and publishing the results to the public - e) Cultivating a sentiment in favour of equality and diversity. 5. To advance in life and relieve the needs of young people through the provision of: - a) Recreational and leisure activities provided in the interest of social welfare, designed to improve their conditions of life - b) Support and activities to develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals. 6. Such other charitable purposes for the public benefit as are exclusively charitable according to the laws of England and Wales as the trustees may from time to time determine ~~4~~ ## **SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets in 2022-2023** This year has seen a lot of changes in how we deliver our services due to greater and evolving demand. We have had increased requests for health-related services and development programmes. The building has returned to pre-pandemic levels of activity and is once again very busy six days a week with a wide range of services on offer for a very varied spectrum of service users. We have introduced new projects this year such as our SEND stay-and-play sessions and our older people’s group. We have also been planning the launch of our online interactive cooking programme in May 2023. A key highlight for this year has been the chance to talk on LBC radio with Nick Ferrari and the Capital Xtra Breakfast Show, raising awareness about the key issues we are targeting and our campaigns. ## _**Key issues**_ SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets works closely with the community and has an in-depth understanding of and insight into the needs and difficulties faced by local residents. The community is still reeling from the after-effects of the pandemic, with many households trying to stabilise their household income ~~s~~ and health. Secure employment for low-skilled individuals has become difficult to come by and the demand is ever increasing. We have many residents who are struggling with the long-term effects of Covid-19 and its impact on their mental wellbeing. Another key issue for local people has been access to healthcare services. Changes in the NHS system and the digitalisation of all services have put many people at a disadvantage when trying to access help. Our young people have faced the challenge of sitting public exams after two years of disrupted schooling, the added pressure of which has led to anxiety and fear among students and their families. ~~5~~ ## **Outcomes at a glance: 2022/23** - Residents have accessed targeted online employment support resulting in tangible progress towards sustainable employment. - Residents have accessed pre-ESOL support resulting in increased literacy, confidence and independence. - Young people have engaged in online and face-to-face youth club sessions with access to positive, constructive activities, educational workshops, sport and trips. - Older people have attended weekly sessions at the centre where staff have been able to support them with issues. - Vulnerable local residents and families have accessed free food packs. - Local families with babies have accessed stay-and-play sessions receiving support and guidance on early development. - Women have participated in online and face-to-face exercise classes and workshops, boosting their confidence and improving their physical health. - Women have attended digital inclusion sessions and have gained skills to help them and their families overcome digital barriers. - Households without access to digital devices have received devices to support educational attainment, progress and inclusiveness. - Young people have gained certified qualifications through online training courses, increasing their employability and confidence. - Young people have completed work experience and volunteering through the Summer Project gaining confidence, skills and knowledge. - Young people have become more aware of the risks of knife crime and have developed skills to handle challenging peer-group situations. - Girls and young women have gained confidence and new skills through workshops and activities. - There is a greater sense of cohesion within the community, developing positive relationships /-among residents and a stronger sense of belonging to the locality. - *Children and young people have accessed online support with their school work and exam preparation, resulting in higher attainment in public exams. ## **A year in figures: what we’ve achieved** Between April 2022 and March 2023: - **1,645** residents used SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets’ services - **521** residents attended a SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets’ community event - **534** young people aged 8-19 years engaged with SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets - **48** adults and young people took part in accredited training - **80** residents received employment support (of whom 35% gained a job) - **67** volunteers supported SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets, including the Management Committee, young people gaining work experience, and residents of all ages helping at oneoff events and regular sessions - **£440,000** of funding was secured by SocietyLinks to continue delivering projects and services. ~~6~~ ## **Financial statement** SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets ended the 2022/23 financial year in a robust financial position with continuing longer-term funding in place and a strong reserve position, as demonstrated by our annual accounts. We have continued our pro-active fundraising strategy – through our strong community connections and responsive planning. We accessed funding for projects in line with the dynamically changing needs of the community while continuing to increase our annual income year on year despite the funding difficulties faced by the entire charity sector during the Covid pandemic and beyond. We continue to have strong reserves above our reserve policy requirement although we did have a small reduction this year as expected due to some project delivery prior to covid being delayed into the 2022/23 financial year. We have sufficient reserves to maintain a minimum of four months of our existing services in case of a shortfall or delay in income from grants. ## _**Longer-term funding**_ We have multi-year funding in place for most of our larger projects having successfully applied for further long-term grant funding Through new funding provided by the City of London we have been able to provide new and existing services to new communities further away from our centre. We have always recognised that longterm funding is key to giving our service users and skilled staff confidence in our service continuity. This has enabled us to build trust and long-term relationships with new and existing users of our services. The charity funding environment continues to be under great pressure as we continue in a postCovid world where the lasting cost of the pandemic is continuing to constrain public and private funding for the charity sector. Similarly, the cost-of-living crisis is impacting all sectors of society; it is constraining funding availability while causing the needs of service users to grow rapidly. We already have funding in place for most of our projects in the medium term and we are confident we can access further funding to secure the longer-term provision of our existing services. ## _**Forecast**_ In 2023/24 funding will continue to be a priority and challenge for SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets, as is the case for the entire charity sector, particularly considering the difficulties of the post-Covid funding environment where the costs of the pandemic are still being counted by all sectors of society. Alongside this, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to acutely affect our service users who are amongst the hardest hit. We are confident that given our successful performance, specifically through the pandemic period and the immediate aftermath, funders will feel confident to support us even more despite the tightening funding environment. We aim to further consolidate our position while continuing our expansion into other community centres and service areas through taking on larger-scale and longer-term projects. Our financial aim for 20223/24 is to secure larger, multi-year grants of between £80,000 and £200,000 across threeyear funding periods to finance our long-term projects and to give the organisation longer-term stability and consistent growth. ~~7~~ ## **Community services** ## _**Job club**_ This year we were fortunate to have the funding for our job club extended by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH). This meant we could work with more people, which was especially valuable at a time when people were struggling financially and looking for second jobs or experiencing added pressure from job centres putting more stringent demands on claimants. Many people had been made redundant and were desperate to get back into work. We were able to provide help with writing CVs and personal statements, interview practice, sending people to job fairs, and supplying volunteering opportunities for people looking for work experience. People struggling with their English language skills were referred to our ESOL classes. We enrolled more than 30 people in childcare training and many of them now are in employment. ## _**Better Jobs**_ Better Jobs has been a very productive project, not only offering support to people looking to improve their employment but also providing training. The budget is generous so we have been able to offer training around first aid and individual tailored training courses that have helped improve people’s skills and raised their prospects of finding a better job. Furthermore, Trust for London offered extra uplift money which enabled us to provide extra resources and offer refreshments for people who were struggling to afford meals. This ‘warm hub’ approach encouraged service users to spend more time at the centre, where they had access to free WiFi and heat during the winter months, and could continue looking for work. ## _**Digital Divide**_ This year we continued to provide a digital support service because we recognised the need to address the digital divide and support people to overcome the barriers they face on a daily basis due to their lack of computing and technology skills. Our sessions provided basic support such as setting up an email account, writing and responding to emails, setting up passwords, searching the internet for retail purposes and completing online forms. We also provided access to IT training courses that could be completed online. We continued to work with ELBA and distributed more digital devices to households where several children were sharing one device to improve access to school work. ~~8~~ ## _**Exercise and fitness**_ We ran several yoga programmes this year because there had been an increase in demand; we provided online and in-person classes. This hybrid delivery was very popular among local women who generally struggle to find time to join a class at the gym or lack the confidence to go to a health centre due to language barriers and unfamiliarity with the settings. Insanity Fitness was held on a Tuesday evening at the centre. The sessions were aimed particularly at men, offering cardio and strength sessions to improve fitness and strengthen inner core muscles, as well as to provide an opportunity for local men to socialize and talk about healthy lifestyles with people with similar goals. Local men had been reporting a high number of diagnoses of high cholesterol and diabetes, so these sessions were introduced to help reduce the causes of this through activity and increased physical fitness. ## _**Fisher Foods**_ This year, due to the rising costs of living, we adapted our food co-operative service to become a food distribution programme. We were supported by LBTH and the Felix Project with deliveries of food items as well as household, hygiene and cleaning products. We reached approximately 120 households through the project, ranging from families that are vulnerable due to being a single-parent family, illness, loss of income or mobility issues. Families gave highly positive feedback, making comments like “food items such as cereals and fresh vegetables have been a lifeline”. They also commented that the household items such as personal hygiene products would last them a few weeks and that one collection of items would last them a while. -Due to the sheer demand and unpredictability of the deliveries we also secured further funding to enable us to buy basic food items such as chickpeas, sugar, cooking oil and onions to enrich the food packs. ## _**London & Quadrant (L&Q) women’s and older people’s sessions**_ We were funded to run a women’s session and an older people’s group in the Swedenborg Park area. The sessions aimed to tackle isolation and loneliness and help individuals engage in the community. The sessions were very popular and with games and refreshments on hand the sessions became part of attendees’ weekly diary. Older people enjoyed playing games together such as bingo and card games, while the women enjoyed activities such as arts and crafts. The women’s group also supported the older people’s session as volunteers, providing conversation and company to the older attendees. ~~9~~ ## _**Queen’s Jubilee**_ This year saw the late Queen Elizabeth II celebrate her Jubilee and SocietyLinks joined the celebrations with a street party for our local community. We had a BBQ serving burgers, cold drinks and a humungous cake to top it all off. We even had a surprise visit from a special guest who posed for photos with everyone. Our younger community members were kept busy with the bouncy castle and craft tables and everyone also got to plant seeds to take home and grow themselves. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended and was a show of great community spirit. ## _**Global Make Some Noise**_ SocietyLinks made an appeal to Global Make Some Nosie as part of their funding application process to support our service users through the rising cost of living with a budget cooking programme, budgeting skills course and pre-ESOL and literacy support, having identified these issues as barriers for people facing food poverty. Our project was chosen as one of the finalists and we were asked to go and support the fundraising campaign live on radio from Leicester Square. Our team and youth volunteers appeared on the Capital Radio Xtra Breakfast Show and on LBC radio with Nick Ferrari. The experience was amazing for the whole team and our efforts helped to raise funds that then led to our project being successfully granted funding for a two-year programme. We look forward to starting this exciting and innovative new project in the coming year. ## _**Family seaside trips**_ This summer we organised three coach trips to the seaside for local families. We visited Margate, Brighton and Clacton beaches where families were able to enjoy the sand and sea and have picnics on the coast. These trips were hugely popular and gave families who otherwise would not have been able to take their children away during the holidays a chance to have an enjoyable day trip out of London. ~~10~~ ## **City of London Afghan Resettlement Programme** SocietyLinks was approached by the City of London Corporation with a proposition to support newly arrived Afghan refugees who were settling into a bridging hotel. The initial proposition was to provide play services for the young people and children. We accepted the challenge. Delivery began with basic play sessions with toys and activities for under 5s and parents where staff built up a positive rapport with families and observed cultural and social aspects of their parenting. Staff then organised to take them out on walks in the local area with their families, building their confidence, helping them to meet people, taking them to markets and mosques, and showing them the general etiquettes of daily living in the UK. We slowly expanded our delivery to provide after-school clubs and activities for 8-13 year olds and 13-19 year olds. The young people enjoyed study support, playing games and most of all doing arts and crafts activities. It was originally intended as a short-term project, but because the demand was high and the City of London recognised our success, we were given further contracts to extend the programme to provide Saturday clubs, more study support sessions and more after-school clubs and holiday programmes. We worked with approximately 150 children over the year and facilitated opportunities for them to experience new things and introduced them to life in the UK through the provision of seaside trips during the summer, arts and crafts projects, local trips to parks and heritage sites, bowling, cinema, BBQ parties and Jubilee parties. The programme presented some unique challenges: firstly, there was the language barrier. Luckily multiple members of our team were able to communicate with them in Urdu, which the refugees found very comforting and reassuring. Newly arrived and having been through war and traumatic events, it was a difficult time for the refugees – and for our staff team; there was a lot of emotion to be dealt with and faced. Our staff, some of whom were able to relate to the Afghans being refugees themselves, used their experience, knowledge and passion to help these families and offer them the best possible service. The City of London Corporation has praised SocietyLinks for our efforts and the standard of service delivery portrayed during this programme. ~~11~~ ## **Training Hub** SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets has built a partnership with training providers London Learning Consortium (LLC) to deliver courses such as ESOL and Childcare for our local residents from the centre. Two cohorts finished their course this year and subsequently found employment or embarked on further training. ## _**Pre-ESOL**_ Our pre-ESOL sessions have been in high demand and we continued to run these sessions this year after securing some funding. We had a waiting list for spaces and had two cohorts undertaking the course consecutively. The sessions have had amazing outcomes including seeing progression onto ESOL, confidence in speaking, enabling independence and communication, and the gaining of first literacy skills for many individuals. ## _**Staff training**_ We continue to develop our staff through training opportunities and workshops. All staff are given mandatory training in health and safety, first aid, fire safety and safeguarding. These are further developed through extended training courses to supplement roles and projects such as training in Autism awareness, dealing with difficult behaviour, Prevent and radicalisation, and mental health awareness. The capacity-building fund from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) enabled further development of the staff team. Four members of lead staff have completed Prince 2 training, which has equipped them with extensive knowledge and skills in project management and is an internationally recognised qualification. Four staff members will undertake counselling training funded by CAF next year. All staff also shared opportunities to attend seminars and workshops provided by external organisations such as CAF, London Youth and the London Community Foundation. Some of these are exclusive events for grant holders and give great insight into organisational capacity building, developing skills to enable productivity and further project ideas. ~~12~~ ## **Women’s Services** ## _**Girls Group**_ Our Girls Group was relaunched this year after being closed during the pandemic. The sessions had always been very popular before the pandemic and demand for the sessions to resume was very high. The sessions started off in the community garden where the girls took part in planting activities as well as arts and crafts and workshops. With the arrival of the colder weather the sessions moved indoors and activities included cooking healthy snacks. The sessions attract approximately 30 attendees aged 8-18 years each week. The popularity of the sessions demonstrates the need in the community and the importance of providing female-only spaces for young women to be able to express themselves openly without the fear of judgement or embarrassment. The sessions helped facilitate peer mentoring and support with the senior girls taking on responsibility for the younger girls. This project is a core service and has continued to run successfully for many years now. Due to its success we have developed a similar programme in the City of London, which is also proving to be very popular. ## _**Commit 2 Being Fit**_ This programme was a girls-only project devised from previous pilot programmes using Fitbits to engage young people and encourage increased physical activity. The aim of the programme was to encourage young girls to actively engage in physical activity to help improve their stamina, increase their physical fitness, and support their mental wellbeing through stress release and the feel-good factor of completing targets. The project provided participants with a FitBit which was monitored through an app by youth workers. The participants competed with others on scoreboards and achieved personal milestones through increasing their daily steps and activity. Participants attended weekly workshops on health and wellbeing-related topics such as anxiety, healthy eating, exercise routines and relaxation techniques. They also participated in an exercise session with a trained tutor who delivered an array of exercise methods including intense cardio workouts, yoga and stretching, Zumba and dance. The app also helps young women to monitor their menstrual cycles and the changes that this causes within their bodies and to their energy levels. All this led to participants having a better understanding of their bodies, feeling confident and proud of their bodies, and being able to look after themselves better. ~~13~~ ## _**E-safety**_ Our ever-popular women’s e-safety session continued to run every Thursday with support from the local Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) who joined each week and delivered workshops and discussions on different issues around safety in the local area. Women were able to ask questions and talk about their concerns or things that they had heard of happening locally. Rumours lead to fear and misconceptions among residents and the sessions with SNT helped to dismantle these with facts and case studies. Our attendees have made great progress in understanding the importance of online safety, recognising and identifying scams and fraud, and also being better equipped to deal with online-related issues concerning their children. The women discussed online grooming, Prevent and radicalisation, bullying and body shaming, sexting and online relationships. The service users celebrated International Women’s Day with a tea party and participated in competitions and quizzes, all related to women’s health and female role models. The event was attended by more than 40 women of different ages, backgrounds and faiths. ## _**Sewing**_ We ran a weekly sewing session where residents were encouraged to repair and repurpose damaged or old clothing, as well as make use of scrap fabrics to creating new items of clothing. Parents enjoyed reusing items of clothing and renewing them skilfully to use again for their children, such as shortening old trousers to be worn as shorts during the summer, t-shirts and dresses being renewed with some added hemming, ribbon or buttons to add detail, and scraps being used to make hairbands and small items for children. The service users learnt skills such as cutting to measurement, using patterns, hemming and overlocking using a machine, using the correct settings on a sewing machine and installing bobbins and threads accurately. ## _**International Women’s Day**_ This year International Women’s Day focused on inequalities and health issues that affect women in our society. The event offered games, quizzes, competitions and lots of homemade food that everyone brought to share. ~~14~~ ## **Youth services** ## _**Youth club**_ We continued running our youth club this year with twice weekly sessions with activities such as pool, Play Station, arts and crafts, science projects and workshops. The local young people enjoyed having a safe space where they could relax and socialise while also having access to qualified youth workers. The youth team ran workshops based on relevant topics that were affecting the young people and made referrals to external organisations and services where needed. The sessions were popular among the 10-16 year olds because they were able to enjoy activities independently with peers. The sessions helped to combat isolation among this age group out of school hours. Parents have reported feeling comfortable with their teenagers attending our sessions because they felt they were safe and well supervised. “The staff are friendly and understand my children and help them to do better things that’s why I like them to come here.” (Parent of young people aged 12 years and 15 years who attend youth club) ## _**City of London youth services**_ This year for the first time we secured a three-year contract, with a possible two-year extension, with the City of London to deliver universal play services. So far we have been delivering one outreach session per week and two centre-based sessions in Golden Lane and Portsoken for two age groups of young people. We have also been delivering a girls group, which has been very popular and takes place late afternoon on Fridays. Our programme is based on themes that are relevant to young people such as substance misuse, body confidence and image, social media, and other national and international themes such as Black History Month, global warming and the environment, and current affairs. ## _**Taekwondo**_ Our taekwondo sessions continued to be a highly accessible and successful project, with young people achieving gradings and gaining confidence within themselves through structured workshops and personal development. The sessions were facilitated by youth workers and trained taekwondo masters giving all-round support to the young people. The past year saw new attendees join including females and young people with SEND. Older attendees have taken on peer support roles within the session to build their skills and personal development. ## _**Saturday Sports**_ This programme ran in the park on Saturday mornings to give younger children aged 8-12 access to youth worker-led sports activities. Children were supported with access to qualified youth workers while also improving their health and fitness through active participation. They played a variety of sports including football, cricket and basketball. The attendees were able to learn new skills, practice their skills and socialised with peers. ## _**Study support**_ ~~15~~ This year we delivered study support to children and young people at various stages of their education to make this popular service more accessible and more beneficial. One session each week was aimed at children aged 8-12 years and was run by two qualified teachers with supporting staff. The session provided worksheets and tasks if the children did not have any homework of their own to complete. The second session was aimed at 14-16 year olds preparing for GCSE maths who were deemed to be borderline students at risk of not meeting expected grades. This group was more concentrated and focused and was run by our maths tutor. Thirdly, we ran an online maths tuition service for those who could not attend in person and these sessions were aimed at 15-18 year olds preparing for GCSE or A-Level maths. The sessions were delivered one to one or in pairs and gave the students focused teaching time. The programme ran on a rotation basis to allow new students to join and achieve maximum reach. “I have actually learnt the stuff during the tuition sessions which I didn’t understand at school. I don’t know what I would have done without these sessions.” (16-year -old student attending maths tuition at the centre) ## _**Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme**_ This year we continued to deliver HAF programmes during the holidays, providing a minimum of four hours per day of service delivery, including lunch and activities such as Play Station, football, table tennis, pool, cricket, hockey, arts and crafts (very popular), nature and clay projects and competitions for writing poetry. The programme also gave children and young people access to qualified youth workers who they could approach if they needed support. The programme provided a safety net for vulnerable children during the school holidays, providing children with a free meal and activities under the supervision of youth workers. ## _**Stay-and-play sessions**_ After carrying out a consultation, it came to our attention that there was a demand from parents with children under 5 for a service that helped with social interaction and integration. Many stated that they had become isolated during the Covid-19 lockdowns and that it had affected their children’s and their own social life. Furthermore, local children’s centres did not have capacity to provide services for everyone which left many parents with nowhere to go. We launched our stay-and-play sessions early in the year and were immediately inundated with requests for places. Our lead play worker is an expert in play services and has over 30 years’ experience working with newborns and young children up to the age of five. She was not only able to set up an excellent session for the babies, but provided talks about child development to inform and reassure parents. The sessions have been really popular and diverse with multicultural service users in both the SocietyLinks Centre and in Raine’s House. We have received a lot of good feedback and praise from parents saying the sessions have improved their mental health and confidence, and have given their children a chance to mix with other babies their age. Some mentioned how impressed they were with the development resources that were cleverly used in our sessions, such as sand, water, dressing-up clothes, the play corner, books, role play equipment, and musical instruments. ## _**Science Week**_ ~~16~~ One of our staff members worked in partnership with the Science Museum through a Science Week initiative that saw lots of experiments and interesting things happening in our centre. We set up an aquaponics system where we are growing herbs on the top of our fish tanks and our youth club participants carried out lots of amazing experiments too. ## _**Summer 2022**_ Summer was a very busy time for SocietyLinks. We ran summer projects in the City of London for Afghan refugees, as well as locally for Tower Hamlets residents. Through these projects we reached hundreds of children. We offered seaside trips, local excursions to the bowling alley and cinema, and healthy lifestyle programmes including sport and education around being active and maintaining a healthy diet. We ran a Fitbit programme where young people registered for their own Fitbit and participated in a challenge board and learnt the best ways to stay fit and active. We also provided refreshments because this had been identified as a key need. ## _**Rainbow Links**_ Rainbow Links continued to run online, offering training and workshops for parents of children with SEND needs. They completed a round of Elklan speech and language training and are planning on further development courses for the parents and carers. SocietyLinks was also able to set up a stayand-play session for children with special educational needs this year. This session caters for children who are struggling with neurological development, providing access to a safe environment where their habits and behaviours are accepted. They are able to play with toys and crafts with guidance from experienced qualified workers. The staff to service user ratio is very high in this session so parents are very comfortable coming to our session to get the support they need. ## _**Christmas**_ Christmas 2022 was celebrated with Santa Claus handing out presents to all our young service users, thanks to kind donations from ELBA and the Christmas Toy Appeal. The event was filled with fun and festivities including hot dogs fresh off the grill, popcorn and snacks, as well as competitions and games. The local community were able to congregate and enjoy the festivities, as well as singing and dancing along to Christmas carols. ~~17~~ **Staff, Management Committee and volunteers 2022/23** ## _**Staff**_ Project Manager: Joyce Archbold Office Manager: Rahima Khanom Finance Officer: Nozmul Hussain Finance Assistant: Mohsin Amin Youth Work Manager: Natasha Freya Youth Work Lead: Joynul Ahmed Youth Worker Lead: Syed Ahmed Tutor: Rizia Begum Tutor: Heather Smith Project Worker: Bulirun Nessa Project Worker: Rita Rahman Admin Assistant: Tahsyn Habib Admin Assistant: Ruksana Begum Admin Assistant: Nusrat Begum Youth Worker: Farhana Kadir Youth Worker: Betina Wembo Youth worker: Hasina Begum Youth Worker: Shahana Nasrin Youth Worker: Sultana Begum Youth Worker: Samad Hussain Youth Worker: Jahangir Rahman Youth Worker: Rashel Haque Youth Worker: Angie Brown Project Worker: Shanaz Begum Project Worker: Mahfuza Bhanu Project Worker: Nahid Ahmed Project Worker: Madihah Khan Project Worker: Nabiha Habib Project Worker: Aneesah Rashid Play Work Lead: Pipeta O’Brien Admin Apprentice: Mahera Yasmin ## _**Management Committee**_ Chair: Sharon Barbour Treasurer: Alex Kind Secretary: Abdul Hoque Habib (resigned) Committee Member: Swapna Uddin Committee Member: Nicole Quotromini Committee Member: Zamanur Shah Committee Member: Emdad Hussain Committee Member: Salma Shah Committee Member: Mazharul Islam Committee Member: Jim Ford Committee Member: Renu Sen ## _**Volunteers**_ Ian Roberts Shozwana Begum Asma Begum Nazreen Khan Samid Ahmed Jasiyah Khan Ayesha Gulzar Ambia Begum Shana Khatum Ruby Miah Abdur Rouf Jannat Ahmed Riaz Miah Mariam Ali ## _**Accountant**_ Earl and Grey Accountants: Razaul Kabir ~~18~~ **Partners and funders** ## _**Partners**_ Peabody Housing Association London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tower Hamlets Homes East End Homes Pollyanna Theatre School Linkage Plus ELBA Prevista Training London Training Centre Jobcente Plus Savage Words Wapping Youth FC Ocean Youth Connections Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Community Food Enterprise Team DJB Taekwondo Island House St Mary’s Church Sundial Centre Swedenborg Society British Science association (BSA) London Learning Consortium JTP Architects ## _**Current funders**_ City of London London Borough of Tower Hamlets Tower Hill Trust Wakefield Trust Peabody BBC Children in Need Awards for All – National Lottery London Community Foundation East End Community Foundation ELBA Tower Hamlets Homes London & Quadrant (L&Q) Souter Charitable Trust Young Londoner Fund (GLA) Seven Stars Foundation British Science Association (BSA) Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Derwent Sheldon Trust London Catalyst The Charles French Charitable Trust Percy Bilton William Wates Memorial Trust Julia and Hans Rausing Trust Co-op Grant Ashworth Charitable Trust Canary Wharf Trust Johnnie Johnson Trust People’s Health Trust Trust For London British Science Association Canary wharf Trust EMD UK Together Fund Howden Group Service The True Colours Trust The Hargreaves Foundation ~~19~~ Reg No. 07750061 Cb*rlty Reg P40: 11S4824 SOCIETYLINKS TOWER HAMLETS Finattcial brtatements for the year endcd 31 March 2023 SOCIETYLIF4KS TOWER HAMLETS Charlty Inform#tion Independetrlt ExaN*lllers' Repgrt In¢vTne E￿endItUre A¢coun¢ BAlsnee Sheet M&nageme•t Comrnltttts Report (kndudlng Publlc benellt St*tem¢nt) SOCIETYLIYKS TOWER HAMLETS ofo Corrtj Add The Whltech*pel Centr¢ 80 Jokn ￿$her Street l*Ddo El SJX 020 7702 0￿1 hgl Sb#roh BAr￿￿r Treas Akx Kind jam￿ Ffjrd Niwle Quotromthl Sh EDWI￿ HusialA Salma Sl#h SwapDrL Uddl I v.xxmi E•rl & Grty AteonntsNts Sulte 14t2C DocklAnds Bu*iDUS Ce4tr¢ I1￿10 Tllier RD*d ndon E14 8PX Pl*istow Br*ncb don 13 8JB SOCIETYLINKS TOWER HAMLErs The fit¥ncial Stat¢n)￿ laid i# thii ryfAton page 3 to 5 have wqmiund¢r thehi5thrical eo Collyentio￿ and tm accorda￿ with the Staknnent of RezoERmeth PrJctiK Att(Mthting apd Rep0tt7tig by Charitieg conimi￿lOn i58ueJ in March, 21N)5 and Jpplicable AccA)llnt*w Stsndar& ATh1 the lJhwitie£ kn lQg3. Ihilftl •f let￿11￿# I COM￿11 A$ llie Charit> s I'¥u8tees, you are re8poo¥ibl¢ for the prep4rn'.iou of the ¥¢owts attd tb•tyou CO￿lder the 4udit r¥quircmcJJls of S¢ctioll 43{2) of tho Chariu¢sAci 1993. this act appty. It is outtespon8ibility ￿ ex*miu¢ the financial statemeDt6 und(YÉeclion 43(31 (al of the 1993 Acl. Follow the laid down in the gtacral direciiots8 given by th¢ Clwities C(￿[￿j￿10neSs (UA&r8¢¢lion 43(7Kbl of the 1993 AGI and: nAiIs ori c￿de0t nbinersl S enl The examination of the a¢¢LK&nL8 W&5 cattl￿ Quiill ac¢oTkn with gttt¢rAI dtwtioth gi¥tn by the Chwity's Commislioner. Th¢ ¢xaminatioD in¢lth.. A T¢view of th¢ acwuRting Fccords ktyi by th¢ Cjwity. A Gornparis¢n of the &c¢ouJJts prvJ¢u¢d with tho* rec4￿d5 made avaTlabic. It inGlud• ¢onsidernioll of anyunwal ilcm5 if dis¢loMtcs iti the a¢c to which opinioo attrntion sknutd b¢drnwn IA onkrto ￿able a wopcrunde>siaAditig of ¢he ￿0￿1￿ to be retcheil. Jty my opmiiott the fjnancial statemcDI &% prepgnyl give a tnje ￿ fair Vi￿ tsf th¢ ¢harity's *ate of atfiirs 45 at 31 March 2023 A5Jd th21 the incotntttg aEdth¢ir asylication in the yethr hav¢ b¢¢npropcrly Rmul K4bir ACCAllFAMIPA Lari & rjicy A¢￿UntAn Suite 1412(j Do¥klAnd5 B¥$ithe￿ CeDtre 10-16 Tiller Road LLmdon E14 8PX I i• Cuobtr 2023 SOCJETY LINKS Intome and ExpenJ¢ FOR THF. PERIOD Ef¥DED 31ST MARCII 20D Intome City of tA)lldon LBTH- Local Community FWMI LBTH. Summer HAF tBTH- Christt)]as HAF LBTII - FAster HAF Charity Aid Fow]dation {CAF) Ti)¢ Tn]¢ Colours Trust Edu¥a(ion & Skills The Har￿eaVeS Foutsdation JiTrhnni¢ Johnson Trust Emf) i]K"log¢hter Fund L&Q Placemakcts Souter Cbariiable Tn)st Grcatcr LA)ndon Authority (GLA)- IAyodoDerFuDd Seven Stars Foulldatic British Science A35fKiation (BSA) William Waieg M¢¥noria] Tntst P￿P]e'S Il¢alth Trust Ttust For LondoD East End CoInmunity FouDdatiim (EECF) 210,815 18,720 24.800 9.560 1,668 30,027 6,89Q 1,5(Kl 16,OLKI 7,335 4.5(M> 21N) 9.757 9.861 15.(KJO 10.808 5.760 4.1)00 2.500 East London Busio¢ss AtliaDCC IELBA) Ti)e Cliarles s french choxitsble"I'T￿Sl The Julia 2nd Hans RausirL8 Trnst Peabody London t￿mIng Con8Ortiu￿ ILto Howden (iroup S¢rvtce Canary Wh2rfTnst C(￿P Qirallt 21.825 51M) 1.th)3 Donations Hall hI 1.042 265 44J,22U SOCIETYLINKS T WER HAM etail staletneni of Finanaal Activities for the Year Ended 31 Marth 2023 31.03.23 31.0322 Unr¢strld*l fund R6strFCted fund funds Pievlous y#ar INCOMING RESOURCES Grants: All Grants Contracts JRS IFurfou9h} 339.913 339.913 330,499 13,656 439,913 439.913 395,141 Other InGomè: Rentsl income Donat￿n$ 1.042 Total Ineomlng r•sourc•s 1,307 439,913 441.220 395.141 RESOURCES EXPENDED Op•ratlng costs.. Admin, Fina[￿ & Proj Mang Project Staff 91216 248,330 90.036 103,g48 Equipment. Trips & Projed Costs Rent 62.143 14,228 81.846 Cleaning Adminis voEx Subscripts'ons Training Fund Rai8ing & F￿bliryty Insuranc8 Tel & Inlernet Pen$v)n 150 11.262 125 2.870 14.W) 1,136 452 5,977 1.013 5.374 18.219 26,798 nancl Ex Bank Charges 342 24 Govornance ¢oJts Acc¢)untancy Le9al & Other PrOf￿￿)[￿t 3.315 1.317 Total r•sour¢¢s expond•d 9.871 435,136 445,(￿7 283,786 Net Incom• 4.777 13,787 111.375 ocIErYLINKS TOWER H ML alanc8 Sheet At 31 March 202 31.03.23 31.03.22 Unrestricléd fijnd Re5tyidwJ fund Totsl fund5 Total lunds CURRENT ASSETS Cash al bank D•bt4)r6 117.470 43.794 51.475 161.264 51.475 224,673 CREDITORS Amounts lalling due withln year (7,83n 7.837 11S,9851 NET CURRENT ASSETS 117,470 87,432 208,688 TOTAL ASSEfs LESS CURRENT LIABILlnES 117.470 87.432 204.￿1 208.688 NET ASSETS 117,470 87.432 204,9)2 208,688 FUNDS Unrestricled funds Restricted funds 117.470 87.432 126.034 82,654 TOTAL FUNDS 204,W2 208.688 SOCIETYLINKS TOWF.R HAMLETS M•n4¢ment Cotrmnittte Report ReystrTed Name & A&tre8S'. SwLinks TowrrHwnleL% 80 John Ft3her Strrti londo￿ El 8JX Rewstcrcd Charity Trlumber. R¢gist¢rcd Cotnp4ny Nunthr. 775(ts51 bjlc Benents staiemelll EDtTodurtlon ocietyLinks'fower Hamlets B5 8 reg1￿c￿ed chm.ty i¥ COTEhmiUcd wtornplianr* trawa]ErKy" Iistrive5 to d¢rtiDnstrat¢ its bcEEEfit fort￿ I￿al rEsidents and widcrcoTnrrMMity. This 5th(¢4￿1 ithntif*s INI sets out theaÈm4 puw. MI￿10 public beKfit that the charity prowiks. Our Alm• Oblettly Societyldinks Tower Hamlets is8 community-ba5ed Charity providi￿oppOrts￿lI1￿ HrKI •cb"vitiC5 to addr¢56 the nLYds of undthyriwileged wple irt the London Bom¥8kn ofTo*rr Ilwnlets and neighlyywiDg F*Jr¢wghs Through srnall. tEf8Ctcd PToiects IE emy>wers prople ts) makc sigtktficaNr lifestyle changes and achÈcve long-lerm improvements (o thesrqt521ity ef life and thai of theirf3rnL"lies. Tr 8CtivÉii¢s edutaiion and training* unemployTneDt, social exclusion. eqy3lity and divaNty. atxl impN>ving tk lifeel1a￿e5 of I￿1 rw)le. SoeietyLiDk¥ Tow¢r H8ml¢ts WOTks towardq ILE vision of bang & Y￿￿E13b]e pi11srwith4n the c4xnmunity. providu ongoia)g geThi¢es for811 re*dents and Introd￿1￿ ints)valiv4 pmje¢ts to meetthe i¢KtYasingneeds of the loc population. Sf*ietyLiTJks aims to build Strong patkncrships with 4)therth8att15ati0￿ w m￿lmiy& 0￿c￿¢1¢neY Hnd output. kniEtyLitbks TowerHamlcts ￿VI￿ge8bein8 abl¢ lo deliversrrvitts across I￿gh ftom diffthEntvenues and TEa¢hio8 OUE to nrriBhlwin# Imirnuth wtthia London. Charii#blt *ryd s￿EttyLinks Tower Hamlcts, mission is to ¢Te&tt B￿1 athiviues ￿ athjrtss tk ncfth ofT¢thwwith thB ¢lhos of bringing NdicpJ lifa%tyle and social Chonge thnJu8h prnctic41 ProJ￿ts. The Chariws obie¢ts I'th¢ thi￿.} arc Cicn¢rdl Clwithle Putpos¢s'. lil To PT05tt0te the advan¢¢m¢rtofedw*iw, lTrinin& cmpbyrp4nt Ind MtETPTiSe ￿p5K)rt forptople in the1￿d0￿ Borough ofTower Httmlcts. (li) To promo* and organise £dU¢￿10￿al aThJ wcial thvekomrnt of Yo￿8P¢Op1¢ wlv) are ￿lallY ¢xcludcd arKI dI￿T￿aged from theira￿l￿tiorffi. (sii) To pr(>vide a voice forzn underreprescnted livl To P￿￿￿te equality lack]¢ ¢1¢1￿410￿. Iv) To ¢￿te opporn]nitie5 And 3Ctivikies to addr￿ the ￿EnifICar$I rreds of deprived u[￿eTpriV1Ie8￿ F￿0¢1)t4 with the ethos of brin85ng &Tr￿t radical lifetyle and sockal ciwjges to improve the qtLfjlity of Itfc for those living I￿1 W<￿tIng in T0￿rHa￿[C BeDelltlAri Tr oveszll objective of knictyLillk5 Tower HaTniets is to build the cryiry of r¢5iknts on tk k*AI cststes Tower Haml¢* &tKt crEai¢ H sirottger. bibrani community that 8]1 trsidcnts feel a partof gTrJ havc a of ownJ5hip lowaFds. W¥ want to help individuals lake in activitie4 engage in trnining and WO￿ and w opprtuDities with ¢Othlld¢ii¢G. Wc havE.y&iate olyjcctivcs for ihe diffe￿￿1 thal we work wiih, and we aim build tirtwotkJ within sDd beEween grnup& to GTUf¢ 4 supw>ruY¢environrnrN thatwtll sus(ain ￿[500￿1 devdopmffll for ￿ld¢ll1& outtothv 4¢hleyed by thtst follo*]￿1￿￿0￿d projerts: Svwlces(•p 1500 rtgiittrtd x t•thcts Toivtr Himltts *ttO City of Lthndotl. 8thdy SypptsTt (•g¢8 12- 18) & HoR*viork avb (y &AI) * loa#t i¥thidRal ¢blldr￿ a•d petspje hav¢ xcegsed tke je￿[￿$ Glrls, Group (ages & IJ) 17S girb *Thl TOm•E *tteftdtd It leAM ope ststhn Tunts Agh&nJt l¥Thiyts (agu lik If) ¥pproxlw*ely 21ts y•￿￿ pebple havteoAktrfbul*d t• tkt prow thrtsugll itten¢tanct ID work5bops 4bdpr8dutth)u of Spirt8 Sasioms (2ges ll_18)Jdn1m￿ bf 21S peoplt bxvt •tt•hded yrts iemlows styrh As t￿¥tball Xtkd m¥lti4p•rts ih thè parL Exerdye 18+1 (Ma 18+) 7• tht*rYiets for •dMEts thrtr w¢¢kly Rolfdxy *nd a¢tfvldu188# &16) 630 indithal chldrell 4Dd youb¥ peojth bte provided wlth durthg A holiday PETigd *¢ross Tower Bathltts atsd Citv of JtFb a4]b (ad￿1& l¥+) ISS xthjlts h**e btntfit¢d eEHploynb¢Dt IT Clu# {aduh$ 18+) 60 *dtrlts have 4tce5#d rr sop￿Irt Tn¢hthg coJnF4•ilne tyl￿•¢ tottrv E-s#f¢ty sessiD￿% {*omtD 18+) & Cltht gmd ClJAI(v•J*tn IS+) rf70 knve *ttend¢d the OAS from >ll ages afid bxkyounds Stay aod Play (#gtJ IM) 4pprvxlm•tely Il•faD*••f VArykn# •fjd bAek8rtsand& h*Ye *£e¢¥Jtd the 4ervke Commtsnlty FAVtiits {all OH #werw t*rkeve•tts by 300peopk ￿ therrfor* S tv¢nts over the y*4r we ILRV¢ ¥DPPOrted ISM irthvfdualJ Stwing {agts 18+1 os POttEen ha*t uyed th¢8e•i•g wl•xf knlssml SEND Awanne$8 Group {•ys l%+) 4$ •¢t¢ttdtd ¢be SEND Orkskno￿ or sessk) Older People'¥ Cr6Np l*ges So+￿ knt 9• i*livtduai* a¥td •ttrR4 oar serYke¥ Cort of Llvlng Food Dkstnljlltlon (all xgts}300 have ree*7v*l iQPT*rtfr•mour knd dbtrlbutio ESOLPPrts LSOL (•ges 184) Bfl •fthlldees ac￿$ the ihrv tlA¥rts incl￿1￿& prtrESOL DIwI￿ Dlrfde C•wafi%A (dtFlt¢ dl¥trlb¥thm for8-18yt•rJ) 61 thvl¢eJ we doaated Trainlnos Wf•rkslLOPi (ourw Ilfv) 90 •It￿ded tr*tw ¢ours DetAehed OlloY•eh tyl RÈfettxb ¢OJtiWTty)40• ho¥JJehol&s re¥bed thro￿th ¢Joor knts¢kl ta4visilng aJEd targe¢ed RefvEte RtsettkwÈDt ProRr*mA)e *z¢s) 13• ￿p￿rt•1 tpty bridg￿ hof*b iEthe aty of LoRth>B These proi¢ctr help *o.' Offer wrttyiti*B toy(W8 p&)pk to ethX¥tith￿. di¥'¢*EithJ8ry and r￿Si￿ve Ex￿)ll￿t wsitivr WdrttcipatÈoD In wiety4MI ¢thnmunity activities Devclop the tmployabTr"lity ofiob s¢ekets andW￿¥￿￿K￿lofl1￿* wfflk ijwow tra*tJing 8th4 oP￿rt[￿lI)G%laccc5S to ic8(wcu ￿l5￿p¢rtthal thty otheTWSse have acc￿% fo Supwrt i#¢bviduaJl faEDill￿ sptrÉfi¢ ht*ds du•1￿. . st￿1¢eS aDd sigtiP05t 2tcordsrely Equop service &%tTy Skil￿ kFX)wled8r ￿ irfotThaim kn eDy￿￿￿y￿ll to haie i HJice Ènd confd•Trts to <*vctwme bu￿1¢x? NtTLI mttke r￿sItiVE deciTii¢)ns D￿clop commvnity colxsioTr azd ttthtatldl￿ •div￿ *Od￿lIU[￿ty n¢hrAxmnunity The ongoin8 SUt¢ess and l>th)efft of these serwes is measured ￿ thelr popularfty and recorded attendance leveL% and the positlve feedback from partnets, service users and wrder stakehowers ieftects the ¢ontlnuous demand for Incrèasin8 capacity and lon8eYity of projects. Charity Comtrthglon Public Beatrrt Guldattet C4)mpltallte We beli¢ve we h8ve complied with to h8vedu¢ re8aNJ ron7mitsM)n's public inteTes¢guidAM¢e wlweverit is Jrlevattt to oura¢tiviti¢s. Ch8irymort SocietyLinks Tower Hamlets 80 John Fisher Street London El 8JX Tel: 0207 702 0901 E: info@societyiinks.org.uk www.societylinks.org.uk Registered Charity: 1154824 Registered Company- 7750061