Family Friends Newsletters
Below are links to our recent newsletters. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read these newsletters as they are in pdf format.
December 2004 December 2005 December 2006 December 2007
NEWS
Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea visits Family Friends for Tea - August 2009
The Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea, Councillor Timothy Coleridge visited Family Friends on 14 August for a tea party also attended by two volunteers and six previously supported families. Thank you Hummingbird Bakery for the delicious cupcakes, Orlando Hamilton for the flowers and St. Helen's Food Store for the loan of their tea set.
Family Friends wins Volunteering Award - June 2009
Family Friends was awarded Excellence in Volunteer Management by the Lady Goodman Award for Volunteering 2009 by the Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea, Councillor Timothy Coleridge. Family Friends' volunteers nominated us for the award and our practices and procedures were assessed by an adjudicator. The award was collected by Family & Volunteer Co-ordinator Maria Meska-Frowde on behalf of Family Friends.
Family Friends celebrates 15th Anniversary - May 2009
The Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea, the Hon. Joanna Gardener hosted a party to celebrate Family Friends' 15th Anniversary on 13 May. The Mayor allowed the party to take place in the splendid Mayor's Parlour at the Kensington Town Hall. 120 people came including past families and volunteers, local organisations and trustees, and they were entertained by a Jazz Trio of trumpeter, keyboard and bass. In November 1993, Sheila Paget established Family Friends as a pilot scheme on the Lancaster West Estate. Her vision was to support families-in-need through early intervention. She established a network of volunteers trained to 'help families to help themselves'. Since then the importance of early intervention has been increasingly recognised. The service has expanded across the whole of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and in 2007 it extended into neighbouring Hammersmith & Fulham.
Family Friends goes to 10 Downing Street - March 2009
Family Friends was one of 40 charities from across the country invited to attend a party at 10 Downing Street to celebrate mentoring and befriending. The reception was hosted by the Prime Minister's wife, Mrs Sarah Brown on 10 March. Services Manager Leonora Borg, Mentee Jordan and Volunteer Aleks attended on behalf of the charity. They received a tour of Downing Street and Jordan was complimented by Sarah Brown on how he was the smartest person there!
The Mentoring & Befriending Foundation awards Family Friends Approved Provider standard - December 2008
The national scheme, set up by the Home Office, sets a benchmark for running mentoring and befriending programmes, by assessing the quality of their management and operation. The foundation reassessed Family Friends Approved Provider status and renewed it for another three years. The assessor said 'your programme meets the key management and operational requirements of the standard and is designed to deliver a quality service. The assessment confirmed the clear supervisory structure you have in place to support the project and your preparation process for participants. Your volunteers are appropriately screened and are then given relevant training and guidance, a careful matching procedure is in operation and on-going support is provided once the relationships have begun....... May I take this opportunity on behalf of the Mentoring & Befriending Foundation to thank your organisation for its highly valued commitment to quality and to wish you further success in the development of your programme.' To visit The Mentoring & Befriending Foundation website click here.
Family Friends win Kensington Housing Trust Community Fund Award - November 2008
Family Friends won a Kensington Housing Trust Community Fund Award at a ceremony on 22nd November at the Hilton Hotel Kensington. Family Friends was regognised under the category Children & Young People for it's work with the 0-16 age group. Awards were given based on charities' abilities to demonstrate 'innovative, sustainable and worked in partnership'. They were presented by Councillor Paget-Brown and Chairman Stephen Duckworth on behalf of Kensington Housing Trust.
Family Friends wins new Volunteer Award - June 2008
The Good Practice Award 2008 was awarded to Family Friends by the Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea, Councillor Joanna Gardner. Operations Director, Flora Taylor collected the award on behalf of the charity at the Kensington & Chelsea Volunteer Week celebration at the Sheraton Hotel, Knightsbridge. The Good Practice Award is given in recognition of outstanding good practice in volunteering. As part of it's nomination, Family Friends was described as ‘an exemplary example of volunteering good practice with many features that other Volunteering Organisations both locally and nationwide could learn from’.
A fun afternoon for Family Friends' families - May 2008
Family Friends' families enjoyed an afternoon of fun on 17th May. Children's entertainer, Dantastic, got everyone on their feet with his comedy routine which featured an enormous parachute and balloon crafting. Games and activities included face painting, jewellery making, beanbag throwing. Each child took home a personalised backpack containing games and books together with a guide to What's On in London in Summer 2008. The event was attended by 29 families, over 100 people. Thank you to The Junior League of London for organising the day for Family Friends.
Volunteering Award for Family Friends - November 2007
The high-quality support that Family Friends gives to volunteers was recognised when we were awarded Highly Commended by the Lady Goodman Award for Volunteering 2007. Family Friends volunteers nominated us for the award and our practices and procedures were assessed by an adjudicator.
Family Friends to open in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham - September 2007
Family Friends is delighted to announce the expansion of our programme into neighbouring Hammersmith & Fulham, through support from the local council. The charity shall begin by offering befriending services to 25 families who have a child under the age of five.
Family Friends achieves PQASSO - January 2007
Family Friends is committed to running an effective and efficient organisation. Staff and trustees worked with the Kensington & Chelsea Social Council to assess all areas of the charity's governance, management and delivery to standards set by the Charity Evaluation Services. The charity achieved PQASSO Level I & II, the Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations.
Family Friends' founder wins Kensington & Chelsea Mayor's Award - March 2006
Sheila Carleton Paget (centre), Founder of Family Friends, was presented with the Mayor's Award by Councillor Warwick Lightfoot the Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea (right). The award was for her outstanding contribution to life in the borough in setting up Family Friends and being the driving force behind it. Family Friends was described in the Mayor's citation as 'a model of statutory and voluntary sector co-operative working'.