Sainsbury's Croydon Brighton Rd Local

ln August 2007, ECE recieved a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of 300,000 members of the IYF (International Youth Fellowship) for our contribution to the UK branch. In September 2008, Esther Community Enterprise was awarded certificates from the Lord Mayor of Croydon, for having carried out 100 hours of volunteering activities. On the 2 June 2011, ECE was awarded with theQueens Award for Voluntary Service, MBE. This is the highest award given to voluntary groups in the United Kingdom, and as such, is equivalent in status to the MBE. This prestigious UK National Honour recognises outstanding voluntary contributions and sets the national benchmark for excellence in volunteering, with the work of those awarded being judged to be of the highest standard. We aim to meet those who have needs in the local community by redistribution of food and other consumables donated from retailers. ECE makes a worthwhile collective response to the 3 tenets of sustainable development, namely social, economical and environmental needs. ECE forms a consortium with other charities, faith groups, projects and organisations. We have over 70 Project Co-ordinators. They manage and help to distribute the food/groceries and clothing items within the local communities across the UK, on behalf of ECE. We have sustained our social enterprise through the goodwill and hard work of over 400 drivers and countless volunteers, who contribute their time, transportation and finance to this worthy cause. Near sell by date food is collected on a daily basis from a range of supermarkets and other retailers and diverted to those that need it most ECE feeds in excess of 40,000 people per week and this is steadily on the increase as we expand across the UK

This project supports the fantastic work that Palmer House does for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. I have been collecting food for this purpose for some ten years! Based in Croydon, Palmer House supports 60 single people up to 65 years of age with complex needs including experience of homelessness or rough sleeping, substance misuse and mental ill health. Customers are referred to Palmer House by the London Borough of Croydon and stay up to two years. The charity empowers them to make decisions about their support, including choosing their Support Worker. This person centred approach enables customers to identify their existing strengths and skills so they can achieve their goals and aspirations. The team at Palmer House believes customers can move beyond their current support needs and achieve their full potential by developing new skills and accessing opportunities. Whilst at Palmer House, customers engage in developing life and independent living skills including developing routine and structure, fostering positive relationships, healthy eating and cooking.

Miije Ltd is a non-profit, interactive and user-led service for young mums and mums-to-be aged 16-30. All the services we offer are centred around becoming independent, confident and responsible individuals and parents. Providing a nurturing, uplifting and supportive environment will enable the young mums to be empowered within themselves and stand strong when navigating the ebb and flow of life. Being inclusive is very important to us, so we host workshops and events outside our facilities for both young mums and dads to have access to support and advice. We are fast approaching the start date for our new cooking workshop, which is going to put Master Chef on alert LOL. Seriously though, the cooking workshop teaches young parents to confidently cook on a budget, experiment with different foods, connect with others and get food support. Alongside the cooking workshop, we are hosting a food bank for young parents within our borough. This is very much needed, as the price of living is increasing dramatically. Young parents are able to come and collect food for themselves and their families when it is needed the most cost and hassle free. Miije is a huge advocate for young mums, and part takes in different partnerships to ensure we are supporting them in the best ways we can. An example of this work is becoming a parent ambassador for our borough of Croydon. We are super excited for what the future holds as new partnerships are forming, bringing about new levels of support for the young parents that are in need.