Meet the 11 local projects in our 2022 Community Fund

Community is everything, and it’s the local organisations – the clubs, centres, schools, and projects – that support, sustain, and enrich an area. These tireless groups give so much, so it’s a huge pleasure to announce that, for the fourth year running we’re able to give something back, by way of the Brent Cross Town Community Fund.

This year, we’ve focused on organisations that support mental as well as physical health, with funding going to eleven local groups that help people to thrive in a variety of ways.

There’s a support group for Farsi-speaking women, a pupil-designed mural to brighten up Claremont Primary School, and Herts baseball club is installing a pitching machine at Basing Hill Park for anyone who wants to give it a go. These are just a few among many brilliant initiatives that we think will add to our wonderful, vibrant and diverse community.

For the first time this year, some of the funding has gone to collaborative projects – Our Yard and the Golders Green Estate Residents association will be reviving the neighbourhood with street planters, while Apache Kids Club has won a grant that will allow the Golders Green Scouts to volunteer there. 

The Keep Rolling Project supports the mental and physical wellbeing of kids through skateboarding, media and art-based workshops. “ It will also help us to create an inclusive community by providing these sessions for free!” says Rachel Sherlock, a GB skateboarding coach and one of the projects founders.

“We are enormously grateful to The Brent Cross Community Fund for their generous support which will help us extend our Gym facilities,” adds Ari Leaman, Director and Head of Services at the Boys Clubhouse. “Our most extreme homeless cases are young men, who are not in employment, education, or training, as well as having no connections with their families. By showing interest in their well-being our staff has been able to reduce their feelings of rejection, negativity, and anger, replacing these traits with a more positive and healthier outlook on life.”

Our judging panel, which included the Mayor of Barnet Councillor Alison Moore, Councillor Alan Schneiderman, Reverend Roy Hutchinson and Joint Managing Partner of Related Argent, Nick Searl, had some tough decisions to make in deciding where, among so many great projects, to award the funding.

“The Brent Cross Community Fund has once again proved to be a popular and much need source of funding for the community,” says Nick Searl. 

We were also especially pleased to see this year that the fund is helping to facilitate the collaborations of local groups to better support the local community. This is all part of our commitment to helping create connections and to supporting a flourishing community”

We’re excited to watch these eleven groups grow and flourish. Have a look at the winners below, and visit their websites to get involved!

Skate and art sessions for kids from Keep Rolling Project
Keep Rolling will hold a series of workshops in which skateboarding classes will be followed by art and photography sessions, getting kids out and active and improving their confidence and self-esteem.

Conversation and community for Farsi-speaking women
Yaran Club is a support group for Farsi-speaking women, many of whom are refugees,  domestic violence victims, or suffer from isolation and loneliness. 

A pottery kiln for Noa Girls
Noa girls, which provides culturally specific emotional, practical and therapeutic support to girls and young women from the Orthodox Jewish community, will buy a pottery kiln, giving their members the chance to experience the therapeutic creativity of pottery. 

A better place to play at Basing Hill Ballpark
Herts Baseball Club will buy a pitching machine for their Basing Hill site so that members can practice their skills and more people in the community can fall in love with baseball.

Computers for kids at Childs Hill School
Childs Hill School, a popular local primary school, will buy thirty more Chromebooks, preparing pupils for life in an increasingly digital world. 

Fun and games at Apache Kids
Apache Kids, a free after-school games and social club, will use its funding to buy more games and to facilitate volunteer support from the Golders Green Scouts.

Female Fitness classes  from BeLifted
With females disproportionately affected by the pandemic and struggling to find fitness classes they can afford, BeLifted is offering a bootcamp that brings women and girls together and helps them to get healthy. 

A mural for Claremont Primary School
Claremont Primary School will create a huge mural, designed by pupils to reflect their vibrant multicultural community. 

Refurbished facilities at West Hendon Pre-school
Much loved local nursery West Hendon Pre-school will refurbish its facility and buy new equipment for the kids. 

Planters to brighten the neighbourhood in Golders Green
Planters for Hope, a collaboration between Our Yard and the Golders Green Estate Residents Association, will install planters at the entrance to Clitterhouse playing fields to encourage the residents to garden there together, which they hope will reduce anti-social behaviour in the area. 

Longer keep fit hours at The Boys Clubhouse
The Boys Clubhouse, which supports disadvantaged and disaffected young Jewish men, many of whom are at risk of addiction and homelessness, will offer a wider range of activities and more free gym sessions. 

Click here for or more information on the Brent Cross Town Community Fund Award Winners 2022.