Since the 14th century, the Haberdashers’ Company has endured as a symbol of craftsmanship, education, philanthropy and charity, an embodiment of the idea that success gains its true meaning when it serves others.
To serve is in our motto for a reason, look no further than the grants, bursaries, scholarships, mentoring, fundraising and other excellent initiatives that support our guiding principles of serving with generosity, educating without discrimination, and investing in our biggest asset – our young people. There are so many opportunities to get involved and my hope is that my journey below will inspire and motivate other Haberdashers to take that leap.
The first step was attending the Charities Engagement Evening, an event that brings the wide range of charities that we support to the Hall to talk about the brilliant work they do. The next step was reaching out to the one that personally inspired or resonated most by finding out more about their mission, purpose and what expertise they desperately needed and learning how you can support and help. I know for many of the younger or newer members this may be daunting, it was for me too but take the leap and see where it takes you. It really was as simple as that, and before I knew it, I was attending board meetings, volunteer sessions and fundraising for Home-Start Southwark, a wonderful charity of incredible volunteers that provides practical, emotional and financial support to struggling families with young children through their challenging early years. The charity celebrated their 30th birthday this year (same as myself, feeling very old) but the statistics below do a much better job of showcasing their amazing work in those 30 years than I can:
- 9707 children supported
- 3814 families supported
- 792 volunteers trained
Many of these families are dealing with hardships that are difficult to imagine, including severe poverty, domestic abuse, depression and living with disabilities. However, the support from Home-Start really does change lives in the best way possible and the numbers below speaks for itself:
- Improving parenting skills and child development – 80% of parents felt it had improved and 74% felt their child’s development and behaviour improved.
- Improving health and wellbeing – 75% of parents felt more confident, resilient, less isolated and better managing their mental health.
- Improving home and money – 77% of parents felt less stress about money and 65% of families with housing problems felt their situation improve.
My journey came full circle at the 2025 Charities Engagement Evening where I presented my story with Home-Start. The true value of charity lies not in the act of giving itself, but in the transformation and journey it inspires – in both giver and receiver. The experience has been rewarding, and I feel privileged working alongside a truly amazing team of volunteers, staff and board members.
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