Elthorne Pride - Elthorne Estates

Bringing people together by sharing food

Recognising that food engages people and creates opportunities to share rich and diverse cultural heritages, in 2018 Elthorne Pride Big Local gave residents funds to cook and share a dish from their own culture. Over 200 people participated, sharing food from at least 30 countries at a ​‘Big International Lunch’ on a local green space. One resident, who had lived in the area since 1979, said this was the first time she’d ever participated in an event that brought everyone together, while a volunteer spoke of feeling proud to support positive cultural exchange. After twice as many people attended the following year, the lunch became an annual event and moved to a local community centre. In later years a local fish and chip shop catered, and councillors and organisations like credit unions attended, enabling residents to connect with vital local services at the event.

During the pandemic, the partnership sourced funds from the council’s Local Initiatives Fund to distribute 500 samples of world foods alongside messages of hope and positivity. To support residents during lockdown, they delivered 230 pre-prepared meals from local Caribbean and vegan restaurants and shared video recipes for these dishes online, making packs of free ingredients available, so people could cook them at home.

Supporting and connecting isolated older residents 

From the start of Big Local, Elthorne Pride created opportunities to bring together older people, many of whom had never been involved in community activities. Annual events included the Silver Sunday celebration, complete with afternoon tea, music, bingo and a visit from the borough’s own royal-adjacent icons, a ​‘Pearly King and Queen’. Regular ​‘Lifestyle Tuesday’ meet-ups offered trips, creative classes and even an exhibition of residents’ own pottery creations. These later evolved into a monthly Monday coffee afternoon, where residents relaxed and chatted while learning about retirement planning, developing digital skills or participating in a knitting group. The Monday knitters also produced items for patients at nearby Whittington Hospital, including baby bonnets, cardigans and twiddle muffs that provide sensory stimulation for people with dementia. 

Due to these regular events, older residents who may otherwise have felt isolated reported that they looked forward to meeting new people and had made lasting relationships. One participant chose to celebrate her 90th birthday in the community centre because of the relationships she had fostered there. At the end of Big Local the Monday coffee afternoons were still running.

Connecting residents across generations through bingo

Elthorne Pride launched a fortnightly bingo club in 2019, attended by residents aged 7 to over 80. The friendly competition encouraged conversation and camaraderie, while participants and volunteers of all ages forged social ties and created lasting memories. Keen to ensure these benefits persisted through the Covid-19 pandemic, the partnership delivered the club via Zoom. If residents didn’t have access to technology, the partnership supported them to obtain devices from the council or other community organisations. They then travelled around the area, visiting residents who needed help to get online.

Providing an annual winter food hamper

In 2016, in what became an annual event, Elthorne Pride worked with volunteers to pack up winter hampers containing purchased and donated food. Initially, they delivered these to residents who would benefit from receiving a hamper, and tenant management organisations helped by providing lists of older residents and families. However, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, they wanted to support anyone on benefits or low wages, so made food available for residents to come along and take what they needed. This new approach opened access to the wider community and reduced food wastage. In some years, toys were included, and in one year the partnership worked with the charity In-Kind Direct, who provided 40 duvets. Each year around 100 households benefitted.

Providing essential, culturally relevant food during Covid

At the beginning of the pandemic, Elthorne Pride set up a food bank operation, distributing over 400 bags of groceries. When the partnership reviewed the initiative, residents said they wanted to pick up food instead of receiving a delivery. Aware of the diverse population, the partnership worked with a local nutritionist and vendor to provide foods compatible with both cultural and dietary preferences before launching the ​‘World Food Hall’ at St John’s Community Centre. In the first week, 100 people collected store-cupboard basics. 

Around this time, the partnership also connected with a food bank based just outside the area. Elthorne Pride became an endorsed referrer and connected residents known to the partnership to the food bank. This resulted in over 60 emergency food parcels being delivered by the food bank to households in the Big Local area.

Engaging young people in activities that built skills and local pride

In response to resident and partnership concerns about knife crime in the area, Elthorne Pride became one of three primary funders for a full-length film that tackled negative preconceptions of the area while exploring how young people could be drawn into trouble. Developed in partnership with Arsenal in the Community, youth-driven production company Fully Focused and social enterprise Ambitious Academy, the film was co-produced by a partnership member and fifteen young people from the area, who participated in workshops to shape the concept and script based on their real-life experiences. Some also acted in the film, which was shot on location in the area. Two of these young people later enrolled in drama school and others sought technical roles in the arts. In 2018 ​‘Drawn Out’ premiered in London’s West End and was later shown at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Over the following seven years it accrued over 6.8 million views on YouTube. 

The partnership followed this up with other initiatives related to knife crime. These included commissioning the charity StreetDoctors to teach people basic first aid, and making bleed kits and a defibrillator available at a local community centre.

Providing additional educational support to raise attainment

The partnership ran a wide range of activities for children and young people, including sports and outdoor games, arts and crafts, and cooking. One particular emphasis was on raising aspirations and attainment so young people could access the best possible opportunities. 

Discussions with local young people showed they were worried about missing so much school during Covid-19 lockdowns. The partnership therefore set up a two-week Virtual Summer School, which covered academic and creative lessons and culminated in a virtual graduation. After attending, participants said they felt more prepared to go back to school. The partnership then offered virtual after-school sessions, which improved pupils’ confidence and academic attainment, along with a homework club and a virtual Saturday school, where young people took the lead in directing which subjects would be covered. One-off school support sessions continued throughout the remainder of the Big Local programme.

Developing a vital safe space for young people to relax, connect and develop new skills

After identifying that young people lacked safe spaces to meet, Elthorne Pride funded a local youth work organisation and worked with Islington Council, who provided a venue, to set up a twice-weekly youth club. In its first few months the club engaged with 45 young people, including relatives and friends of a young man who had been murdered in the area. Initial sessions focused on building relationships and trust with participants and gathering their ideas about how they’d like to see the club develop.

In response, the club hosted weekly activities, like pool, table football and DJ workshops, while giving young people space to relax with friends after school. External trips were also organised, from bowling and pizza to a scavenger hunt in central London. Alongside on-site activities, the youth work organisation signposted young people to opportunities outside the area, including chances to develop music production skills, learn how to cook or work towards a Duke of Edinburgh Award. As the Big Local programme came to a close, the club was still running, with around 20 young people attending each week.