supporting local action by local people
The work we do supporting local residents, community groups and organisations in Camden has a transformative impact on the local community. But don't just take our word for it!
Here you can read just a few of the stories from our service users about how our support has made a real difference to help bring about a better quality of life and more sustainable and resilient communities in Camden.
Paul works at the Irish Chaplaincy and manages the Irish Chaplaincy Seniors Project, which supports and advocates for the most vulnerable and isolated of older Irish people in London.
In this Case Study, Paul talks about the mental health training he got from VAC and how that helped him in his work.
Elizabeth works with South Sudan Women’s Association. They provide support to south Sudanese women and their families and are based at Abbey Community Centre.
In this Case Study, Elizabeth talks about how South Sudan Women’s Association started, the services they provide and how she got involved with VAC. She also talks about her overall impression of VAC and the sorts of things she see’s herself doing with VAC in the future.
Judy has started her own company named The Woodpecker Training Workshop Project which teaches basic carpentry skills to people with mental health problems.
In this Case Study Judy talks about what her motivation was for setting up her project, the help she got from VAC to set it up and what she hopes the impact of her project will be on people in Camden and herself. She also talks about what she’s been involved in with VAC in the past and the benefit of it.
Jackie was seconded from Greggs the Bakers to become a Business in the Community Connector in 2016.
In this Case Study she discusses how well she thinks the business and voluntary sector work together and what needs improving, the work she has been doing with VAC and how VAC has contributed to her work as a Business Connector. She talks about the kind of impact her work as a Business Connector has made to voluntary sector organisations.
The Rock ‘N’ Roll Rescue Charity Shop was opened in 2015 on Parkway in Camden Town and sells records, CDs, books, clothes, musical instruments and much more. The shop’s founder Ian M Carnochan (aka Knox of the legendary band The Vibrators) talks about how he set up the shop and the support he got from […]
In November 2014 VAC delivered two bid-writing sessions to help 15 civil society organisations embed social value into future funding bids. Violet Oruwari-McCabe, of Progressive Stages, talks about how important this training was to help her with future fundraising.
For the last seven or eight years VAC has facilitated a strategic away day for the trustees of Kingsgate Community Centre. There they look at developing a new business plan or reviewing the progress of the current business plan.
Donna Liburd, Director of Kingsgate Community Centre, talks about how the support received from VAC has made a difference to the organsiation year-on-year.
The Community Health Advocates project is part of VAC’s Health Inequalities work to address issues which contribute to poor health outcomes for Camden residents. VAC recruits and trains local people to volunteer in Camden GP practices. These Community Health Advocates promote community based services and activities that contribute to a healthier lifestyle.
Oxford Brookes University and VAC have been working together to explore how the neighbourhood planning process in Somers Town is enabling communities and local stakeholders to work together to ensure local planning meets community need in Somers Town.
Following VAC’s succesful neighbourhood planning project in Somers Town, Holborn Community Centre approached VAC for some advice on how to start the neighbourhood planning process in Holborn. Nahida Chowdhury, leading the project, talks to VAC about how they used VAC’s help to start involving their local community in the process.
