Tom Richards is KCSC’s snappily titled “Voluntary Sector Development Manager”, or “the guy who helps new and established organisations with anything they need bloke”. I interviewed him just after payday when he was in a good mood.
Joe – Tom, let’s just have a few words about your day to day job before we get to the extra exciting bit.
Tom – My day job mostly involves supporting new and emerging social organisations – as well as other well-established organisations – to achieve their ambitions around growth and development, monitoring and evaluation, policies and procedures, project planning, business planning and strategy development and identifying and securing new income streams, a host of other essential bits. Our team basically helps organisations to achieve their goals, so you’ll find us all over Kensington and Chelsea working with local charities, community groups, residents associations and social enterprises.
Joe – That’s a lot of stuff you and Brenda have to get through, yet you’ve worked up some other stuff as well to keep you busy.
Tom – You mean Head_Space? Yeah, I am really excited about this. It’s an opportunity for local organisations and activists to be inspired by others who, like themselves, are engaged in delivering great projects or have a specific area of expertise. The first event is called Head_Space: The Power of Communities, and it’s all about showcasing the strengths, resilience and impact of local communities, as well as some of the challenges communities face. Expect some fantastic talks by each of our three speakers, followed by an interactive Q&A. The event will be a great space to mingle, share ideas and perhaps come up with yet more innovation! There’s plenty of free food and drink on offer too!
Joe – Who is invited?
Tom – It’s aimed mainly at activists, community organisations, businesses, charities and social enterprises- it should be really useful for those who attend the Grenfell Network Group, because in some ways it has a similar goal – to inform and to foster new ideas and cooperation between people who all contribute towards making the borough a vibrant place to live and work.
Joe – Thanks Tom, before you go – when does it all start
Tom – If people are interested they need to register as we hope interest will be high. It starts on the 1st of November, 3.30pm at Bay20. Somebody I know you’re familiar with, Moyra Samuels of Justice4Grenfell, will kickstart the event, followed by local resident and filmmaker Zakiya Amlak, and Patrick Mulrenan from London Metropolitan University.
From: The Kensington & Chelsea Social Council October Grenfell Network Group Bulletin.
Joe Batty. Senior Community Development and Engagement Officer of Kensington and Chelsea Social Council – Joe@kcsc.org.uk
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