27 July 2017 IMMEDIATE

Press contact:Alan Ali on 07403 147 311 armanalan.ali@gmail.com andaladdinpr@yahoo.co.uk

NEWS

Bermondsey disability group scoops £10k for garden makeover of ‘ugly' car park

A charity-run Bermondsey day centre has scooped £10,000 from the Mayor of London to help it transform its ugly car park into a beautiful garden and art studio for people with a learning disability. The funding pledge means the centre now has £12,305 towards its £16,000 target.

The centre beat off 150 other competitors for the cash pledge to make it through to the final 25 in a nail-biting final pitch to the Mayor of London at City Hall by parent and carer group co-chair Gemma Cooper on Tuesday, 25 July. The scheme now has 34 backers, including commercial company Veolia which pledged £500. But it still needs help to reach its target. Donations can be made here:https://www.spacehive.com/a-space-for-art-and-nature

Around 90 people with a learning disability go to The Riverside, which is run by the Camden Society, each day. It is a social hub, learning centre, safe space and invaluable resource. People choose how to spend their day & plan their own timetable of activities, from painting to horse-riding. The charity gives people the support they need to do this.

Because of the imminent closure of the other local centre run by the Camden Society at Queens Road, it needs to make space for even more people at The Riverside who face the prospect of having nowhere else to go each day.

The Camden Society's chief executive, Denise Largin, says of the win:

"This pledge from the Mayor is a real boost to our plans to turn an ugly car park into a beautiful and exciting space for people with a learning disability to use. But we do need the public to get behind us so that we can reach our £16,000 target and make the dream a reality. So please donate if you can

"Currently, our car park is under-used, uninspiring. It's crying out for a new use. We want to brighten up this space by rejuvenating the overgrown, littered borders; building raised accessible flower beds where we can teach gardening and grow our own healthy food to serve in our kitchen. We will make some of these beds available to the local community.

"We also aim to raise funds for a ready-made art studio for the people we support & other local community groups to use for workshops, training or therapy."

 PHOTO OF RIVERSIDE DAY CENTRE ATTACHED TO THIS PRESS RELEASE

ENDS (383 words)

Press contact:Alan Ali on 07403 147 311 armanalan.ali@gmail.com andaladdinpr@yahoo.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

The Camden Society www.thecamdensociety.co.uk campaigns for the rights of people with learning disabilities and supports them in living full and independent lives. It delivers housing support, employment and community services across London and in Oxfordshire for over 600 people a week. It established Unity Kitchen in 2010 as a sustainable and self-sufficient way of generating money to fund the charity's work while providing employment and training for people with disabilities.

The City Hall event was hosted by Spacehive, a crowdfunding website. It is part of a campaign called ‘Crowdfund London' and it is the second time the campaign has been run. More information below:

https://about.spacehive.com/introducing-the-mayors-crowdfund-london-workshops-2017/

https://www.spacehive.com/movement/mayoroflondon/about