ALDI LONDON - KINGSBURY

We befriend people to relieve isolation and loneliness while informing of opportunities around them, supporting them to achieve potentials by improving skills already possessed through volunteering/ work experience and placements and or providing new skills for life chances and sustainability. Based in a rented shop unit in Grahame Park Estate, 7 The Concourse, NW9 5XB, used as a Church meeting place on Sundays, we provide Youth Club on Thursday and Friday evenings, warm space in cold weather and cool space in warm weather and provide health & wellbeing activities for people aged 55+. We offer seasonal parenting programme to strengthen families and our community. We provide daily good surplus food redistribution to relieve food hunger and to prevent wastage towards Net Zero 2050, and weekly food bank with fitness exercises, and monthly nutrition advice session with social prescribing. We offer advice and referrals as needed. We provide employment skills training towards self-sustainability. We also provide financial support funded by Acts 435 and household support fund in collaboration with BOOST of Barnet Group. We are a member of Barnet Food Partnership, led by the Health in All Policies, Public Health Communities, Adults and Health Directorate, London Borough of Barnet More information about Living Way Ministries and Barnet Foodshare is online at www.livingwayministries.net

Kingsbury Community Group was formed to offer help and support to our local community. We started our group just over 4 years ago starting with a Facebook page called what’s happening in Kingsbury Queensbury Edgware and surrounding areas . We now have 24.000 +members During lockdown we visited many vulnerable families and elderly residents living alone. Doing shopping for some picking up prescriptions and providing food parcels for others. We also work with other organisations such as. Brent council and our local safer neighbourhood team to help those in need of food , clothing or furniture items or a little home maintenance help . We collect food donations which we give to 3 local food banks as well as families we support in our community Also we are very fortunate to be able to bring a little joy to the elderly we visit in our local care homes we bring in Christmas gifts ,Easter eggs ,valentines chocolates and roses popping in for a cuppa and a chat brightens every ones day . We have a Facebook page where we share just some of the things we have achieved for our community. Kingsbury Community Group please do have a look 😊

At The Village School we believe it takes a village to raise a child. We are a School for Special Educational Needs School, we follow the national curriculum and the students are taught to GCSE level - the more able students advance to A-Levels too, achieving good results. There is a varied timetable where the students learn life skills such as washing up, ironing, cooking and cleaning. We have also recently introduced herb and vegetable gardens around the building where the students do the planting, look after their produce and later use it to prepare dishes. There are a few laundry rooms where the students carry out laundry duties as well. Over two years ago, we opened a cafe and a shop within the building. These facilities are very popular with the staff, students, parents/carers and visitors. Open 7.30am - 3.30pm daily during term time, the students use these facilities as work experience. In the cafe they prepare food such as salads, sandwiches, smoothies, coffees and other beverages. The shop is used to make and sell thinks like cards, painted mugs, scarves, cushions, soaps, arts and crafts, and is mainly used for enterprise, where the goods are showcased and sold. The students undertake all duties for the daily running of the shop - stock merchandising, rotation, replenishment, ordering, displays, serving customers and cleaning duties. We do our level best to ensure each student has an enriching learning experience. However, when the students leave, there is little opportunity for them to progress in the real world. Statistics show that only 6% of the students with special needs end up in employment and there is often nowhere for them to go after they leave school. Here at the Village we would like to create opportunities for apprenticeships and real paid work in the cafe and the shop, as we have seen there is real growth in these areas. The students can develop their skills and be paid at the same time. We would like our local community to use these facilities too. As this grows, there may be room to have a pop-up shop outside the school building from which to operate. We need volunteers, food and other donations to do this, as there is no funding available. With your help we can make this possible. :)