FCA & PSR

ICSS is a small, grassroots, 100% volunteer-run registered charity operating since 2004. We are a passionate group of volunteers helping children from vulnerable groups, such as refugees and children affected by domestic violence in East London, achieve their full potential through education, and in time, they can understand the value of giving back to society. We also operate a food bank serving referred families, providing food and other essentials.

- Education/training - Children/young people - Provides services Based in Peckham, South East London, we are an after-school music training hub. Salem was established in 2004 to make instrument music training accessible and affordable to young people (YP), especially but not exclusively, to those from disadvantaged, underprivileged, and underrepresented. We also provide a haven for YP to interact, socialise, discuss different social topics, and have a healthy meal. We give planned mental health training with professional practitioners. Classical, Jazz, and Praise music are purposely chosen as our repertoire, as they are particularly effective in lowering stress and anxiety levels in YP. As YP play and listen to these genres of music over the years, it helps them become more focussed and therefore more productive. Through our regular ABRSM exams, we help our learners build points towards entrance into grammar and boarding schools. Our intermediate and higher grades exams help build UCAS points towards university placements. Over 97% of our learners end up going to university. Some of our past learners have played with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Chineke Orchestra. Some have studied music at universities and now have full-time careers in music. We start our trainees from as young as seven years old and many stay with us until they leave for university. Some return after university to either help out voluntarily, or continue their own personal development. We collect surplus food donations from various outlets. Some are cooked on-site and given as meals to our pupils/learners, parents, teachers, volunteers, and the local community. Others are taken home by the same groups of people. Volunteers do all our food collections, cooking, feeding, and distribution. We do not charge for food consumed on the premises or taken away. No foods are resold.

Although we started in London, we have been offering Counselling in Croydon since 2015 and currently based in Croydon. We will now like to support our community more by supporting with practical advice and tools like food via weekly wellbeing support groups / workshops to the Croydon Community. In Croydon 1 in 6 adults (67,000 people) has a mental health condition at any one time, this is costly to the wards, borough and wider society and 1 in 4 young people are struggling with emotional trauma and mental health problems. We will like to support local familes, schools, young people and their parents / main carer to be more resilient, motivated, and empowered to make right decisions and have positive outlook on their future. During this pandemic of Covid19, there is a massive fear of shortage of food, affecting the community and families we offer emotional health support to. We are still offering Psychotherapy / Counselling support by offering email counselling, telephone counselling and face to face via Zoom. We will like to still support families emotionally and practically by supporting with food.