Second Enrolment Day! 19 May 3 – 5:15pm

Confusion, anger, frustration, sadness, worry, cashflow stress? We are all feeling it,  especially since coronavirus descended on us all those weeks ago. And for many of us it started a long time before that. Many of us have been unemployed for a long time, unhappy in jobs, coping with illness, caring for others, making difficult decisions and not knowing where to go next.

Whether you have been recently laid off, your business has suddenly stopped, or you have been struggling to find work for several years, one thing is for certain – it can be hard to see the wood for the trees – but there is always hope and there is always opportunity. And most importantly – we’re all in it together.

We are harnessing the power of our community, our experts, our friends and neighbours, to bring you a brand new course which can help you turn this around, to build your confidence,  help you start a profitable business, and turn the stress into success. Our new Employ Yourself course comprises 8 weeks of 2 hour sessions with a tutor in a classroom environment, free, meeting you at whatever stage you are at – whether you have an initial business idea or need to take a difficult look at a failing business and get it thriving again. We will help you move into test trading, registering, becoming profitable and seeing opportunities in this difficult time. We are covering every aspect of business from identifying audiences, managing finances, finding your USP, getting online, marketing, and much more. Most importantly – we have  a lot of fun and you will have stories that will last a lifetime!

Our wonderful trainer Georgina has worked with us for many years and as well as running several successful businesses she has also had enormous success in building confidence, releasing potential and facilitating hundreds of successful entrepreneurs.

We have an enrolment day on 19 May, come and join us! Register now at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/L65ZZDD

For more information email info@treeshepherd.org.uk or call 0203 948 3020.

Now for the legal bit- we are funded by the European Social Fund and Paddington Development Trust. To be eligible you must be:

• are aged over 18
• currently or recently unemployed
• live within the London Borough of Southwark or Lambeth or Westminster

The course will be delivered over 8 weeks starting on 13 May over Zoom, so access to a computer and wifi / data is important.

Please spread the word. Let’s turn this COVID nightmare into the best decision you ever made…. why not give it a go?

Connecting Tulse Hill

Please support the crowdfunding campaign being led by High Trees, Tree Shepherd and Jubilee Primary School.

Find out more here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/connecting-tulse-hill

What are we trying to achieve?

The global COVID-19 pandemic has created a very uncertain landscape for many Lambeth residents. The move to remote delivery of many key services has left certain individuals isolated and excluded during this time. Many individuals and families in Tulse Hill are particularly hard hit with 1 in 6 households without either wifi or digital devices to stay connected. The digital world we live in means that wifi access is no longer a luxury, it is a basic utility, with many households still excluded.

The Connecting Tulse Hill Partnership want to make sure that individuals and families are able to access the remote support and services they need during this time. Through Crowdfunder we aim to raise enough funding to allow us to purchase and distribute over 200 wifi-connected laptops to vulnerable households in Tulse Hill. Equipment will be used so that:

• Individuals can access and apply for welfare support they may be entitled to
• Individuals can take part in online courses that are being delivered by High Trees
• Children and young people can engage in their remote school- support
• Individuals and families can stay connected to each other via video-calls

Every donation counts!

• £10 will allow an individual or family to get connected to the internet for 1 month
• £30 will allow an individual or family to get connected to the internet for 3 months
• £100 will allow us to purchase a 3g connected tablet so they can complete welfare applications
• £250 will allow us to purchase a laptop for individuals to engage in on-line learning and support

For every £1 raised, we hope a further £1 will be further matched by Lambeth Council!

Who are the Connecting Tulse Hill Partnership?

This project is a collaborative effort of 3 organisations, with the support of our Tulse Hill Ward Councillors, comprised of:

• High Trees Community Development Trust- who are based in Upper Tulse Hill,  and who have been working in the local community for the past 22 years. High Trees run a range of community adult education courses, employment support, community action initiatives from St. Martins Learning Centre, and we also run youth and play services from Tulse Hill Adventure Playground. High Trees will be the project managers in this initiative!
• Tree Shepherd- who run the GLOWS Maker Space and co-working hub for small enterprises on Tulse Hill Estate (that wonderful brightly coloured set of porta-cabins). They also run a range of start your own business courses and skills-based workshops.
• Jubilee Primary School- who serve hundreds of children and families from the Tulse Hill community, making sure that their development, happiness and well-being is at the heart of everything they do.

The pupils from Jubilee have created the fantastic image for our campaign and are very excited about what the project can potentially achieve!

A few words from us all…

‘Councillors frequently see the results of lack of connection in Tulse Hill, the stress of applying for jobs online is enormous when using a phone. There are difficulties as well, accessing  council services such as paying rent or council tax or even online library services in an area where there is no physical library. Coronavirus has only exacerbated the difficulties that people were facing – widening inequality and making it more difficult for people to use essential  services. Enabling better connectivity will allow individuals and families to contribute to  and benefit from wider resources’- Cllrs. Mary Atkins, Marcia Cameron, Ben Kind

‘This fund looks to meet the urgent needs of Tulse Hill parents who have lost their income through this crisis and cannot afford the data or the equipment to stay on line to teach their children or access vital services and we are very pleased to be able to play a role in helping them.’ – Colin Crooks, CEO, Tree Shepherd

‘Staff from Jubilee, as with so many schools across the country, are working really hard to ensure that a wide range of high quality work is set for pupils whilst they are unable to come into school. It is vital that all pupils have the opportunity to access this work so that gaps do not open up between those able to access their learning online and those who can’t. Through this fund we will be able to support our families to reconnect with the children’s online learning.’-Tom Prestwich, Headteacher, Jubilee Primary School

‘Working together, we can make sure that individuals and families affected by digital exclusion across Tulse Hill, get the vital equipment and connectivity they need in order to access the remote services available during this time” –Grace English & Anna Coffey,Co-CEOs, High Trees