The Arsenal Foundation works closely with the Octopus Community Network as part of the Arsenal and adidas No More Red campaign. As they celebrate their 25th birthday, they tell us what they do and how they continue to help community centres reach and support more young people.
“Octopus Community Network is a mutual collaboration between 14 of Islington's largest multi-purpose community centres. We have worked together for over 25 years to increase community cohesion and address social injustices – including food insecurity, health inequality, race and gender inequality, and climate crises.
“Currently, our work includes providing Cost of Living events for those grappling with financial hardship, Warm Spaces for those struggling to keep their homes warm, helping communities create and manage community food growing spaces and transforming green space where they live to improve health and wellbeing.
“The Octopus Network came together in 1999 when significant funding cuts to community centres were announced. We knew these organisations couldn’t be lost, as they are valuable and valued community assets, so the focus was to make sure these organisations could survive and thrive. The centres decided that working together was the best way forward, taking a “we’re stronger together” approach to fundraising and organisational development.
At first, six centres joined the Network, and over the years it has grown to number 14. The key value of being stronger together is still at the heart of our work 25 years later.
“All the centres provide a daily programme of activities and services that address many of the challenges that vulnerable people face day-to-day. They respond to calls to help tackle potential eviction, provide food cooperatives and community cook-ups and run befriending groups and social activities.
“We know that Arsenal fans come from all walks of life and backgrounds, and have different motivations to helping out in their Islington community. Supporters can get involved through:
• Volunteering: a little or a lot of time: we are always seeking people to help out at our Community Plant Nursery. You don’t have to be experienced in gardening or have any particular skills – bags of passion and enthusiasm go a long way.
• Corporate support: we value the contributions that corporates can offer us, from volunteering through to donations.
• Funding: we are particularly keen to take forward our No More Red-inspired project to work with young people, and we need to secure funding to help us do that.
“Through No More Red and in collaboration with anthropologist Dr Kelly Fagan Robinson from the University of Cambridge, we devised a programme where the young people involved created commentary on what “home” means to them using photography, film and audio-narrative. These workshops have created spaces for conversation about what they love about their homes and communities, and what changes they would like to see.
“Participants travelled to Cambridge to share their work with artists, academics, policy makers and charity leaders, and led conversations about what needs to happen to ensure young people have access to safe spaces. From this event, more than 40 people committed to at least one practical action towards making positive change happen.
“Being an official No More Red charity partner has given the opportunity to connect and work with others who want the very best for Islington’s young people; to help them learn new skills, experience new things, embrace their passions and develop a sense of identity and independence. Almost all the community centres are no longer able to provide youth work due to funding challenges, but they do provide the safe space that young people crave in their community. Being a No More Red charity partner has put the need for neighbourhood-based youth work and local opportunities for young people back on the agenda.”
For more information visit octopuscommunities.org.uk, email info@octopuscommunities.org.uk or call 020 7263 7095.
For more information about No More Red click here.
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