Transforming lives through Kindness, Belief and Hope
Pecan celebrates 35 years in the community – Est. 1989
Welcome
Spring is upon us, and as we step into this new season there is also a lot of change here at Pecan.
In January we said goodbye to Chris Price who had led Pecan for 12 years. This month we will say hello to our new CEO – watch this space for more information coming soon.
Plus, we have some exciting fundraising opportunities this Spring; Ben Nice is running the London Marathon and the Holy Rollers cycling in Ford Ride London to raise money for Pecan. We will host Pecan Day again on Thursday 5 December – so start planning how you will get involved now! And we will be celebrating Pecan’s 35th anniversary throughout the year, so keep an eye out for events happening in our Together Space and around the community.
As part of our 35th year we would love to hear from you – we are gathering case studies, testimonials, really anything you would like to tell us about your experience with Pecan, memories of Pecan and of course what you would like to see Pecan doing over the next 35 years.
So, email us your stories at welcome@pecan.org.uk and add ‘Pecan 35’ in the subject line.
Read on for more information on what our projects have going on and to meet another of our fabulous volunteers.
Deborah Hayman-Nkhoma,
Head of Services
Fundraising Update
Challenge Events 2024 - April and May 2024
London Marathon
Our brave runner for 21 April 2024 London Marathon is Ben Nice from TMT Finance.
Ride London
Holy Rollers will be taking the challenge again for Pecan on Sunday 26 May 2024.
Warehouse volunteering, donations and collections
London Bridge Collection
Every last Wednesday of the month we have a Southwark Foodbank collection at London Bridge from 7-10am with corporate volunteers supporting us. In March a big thank you goes to Area for joining us on Wednesday 27 March and helping us raise London Bridge raised £1389.40.
Easter Collection
Thank you to Franciele Nunes for organising an Easter egg donation at Mercure in London Bridge for Pecan. The donations went out to our families accessing our Employment Support Programme.
Community Collaboration
Thank you to Michelle Dwyer at Nice & Graphic in Peckham for partnering with us to host Cloudinary volunteers in Nice & Graphic Letterpress Studio. The team learnt about a letterpress and all the work involved to print – from picking typefaces and mixing inks to packing the typefaces on the press. The beautiful artwork created by the team from Cloudinary has a Pecan purpose, which we will reveal soon.
Volunteer to run for Pecan at the Big Half event on 1 September 2024. Get a free place through us by emailing theresa.tsui@pecan.org.uk! More information on the Big half The Big Half – The Big Half
Let us know if you would like to do any charity runs and fundraise for Pecan and we can support you with your entry place (and more!). A list of runs can be found here: Run For Charity – Events Calendar
Pecan Food Services
Southwark Foodbank, Peckham Pantry, Engagement and Southwark Food Action Alliance
Southwark Foodbank
London Bridge Collection in March. Thanks to Area who’ve become regular volunteers for the early morning station collection. We’re grateful for their support and enthusiasm.
- Waterloo Station
First bucket collection at Waterloo Station on 10 April. - Easter Thank Yous
Thank you to the businesses, churches, schools and individuals who donated food before Easter.Thank you to the team in the Warehouse for doing a speedy and thorough annual stock take just before Easter.
Engagement and Campaigns
‘Thank you to everyone in our community who signed the petition and spoke to us about the campaign at our stall last year.’
Guarantee Our Essentials Campaign
Over the last year, Pecan and Southwark Foodbank have supported the Guarantee our Essentials campaign calling on the UK government to reform Universal Credit to ensure that everyone can afford the essentials we all need to get by.
Thank you to everyone in our community who signed the petition and spoke to us about the campaign at our stall last year. Across the UK, over 150,000 people have signed the Trussell Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s petition. Last month, the petition was handed in to UK political party leaders to tell them it’s time to guarantee our essentials.
If you would like to find out the next steps with the Guarantee Our Essentials campaign, and hear about our local campaigning group Voices for Southwark, please contact us via email.
Legislative Theatre Project with the Trussell Trust
Pecan is taking part in a Legislative Theatre project with the Trussell Trust. Legislative Theatre uses theatre games, scenes and discussion to understand everyday experiences of problems, and redesign rules, budgets and laws to address these problems.
- Have you experienced challenges to accessing sufficient Universal Credit to make ends meet and afford the essentials?
- Do you have ideas about how to make social security work better for everyone in the UK, reduce barriers to work and solve the housing crisis?
- Want to engage with decision-makers, and make a play that will spark change?
If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Flora on 07929 999 006 or via email.
Southwark Food Action Alliance – Food Map
Southwark Food Action Alliance (SFAA) are a food partnership based in Southwark and hosted by Pecan. The alliance consists of local food providers, charities and community partners, residents, businesses and more. These individuals and groups work together towards a collective goal of achieving an affordable, inclusive, healthy, and sustainable food system in Southwark.
The SFAA food map is an online map which signposts information on the free and low-cost food services available to the community in Southwark. It includes information on location, opening times, the type of food offered, and any extra support a service might provide. Services on the food map include foodbanks, community fridges, food pantries and more. Check it out here or click on the map.
Peckham Pantry
Peckham Pantry Steering Group is a group of pantry members, volunteers and staff who meet once a month to develop ideas on how to engage with pantry members and members of the wider local community.
You may have spotted our new bookshelf at Peckham Pantry on Peckham Park Road. This came about from an idea within our steering group, thanks to our dedicated member Laura Jane and her friend Barbora, who organised the bookshelf and children’s books. Stay tuned for further projects we’re working on and share your ideas with us!
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 23 April 9.30-10.30am, and meetings take place at Pecan with the option to join online. If you would like to join our Steering Group, attend the next meeting, or just share an idea for Peckham Pantry, please contact Flora on 07929 999 006.
Or just pop by our next Peckham Pantry Coffee Morning on Thursday 25 April from 10.30-11.30am at Peckham Park Road to join us for a cuppa and a chat!
Women's Service
Women’s Service: provides a gender specific, trauma-informed services to women who have had contact with the criminal justice system and/or face multiple disadvantages in the community. This includes 1-2-1 advocacy, workshops and activities, weekly drop-ins and monthly hub lunches. All women (including Trans women) are welcome in our warm, welcoming, inclusive space.
A wonderful celebration at our Peckham Hub at our International Women’s Event.
As part of our Women’s Service International Women’s Day event, we also celebrated a project that has been in progress since Black History Month 2023. The project is called ‘This is Us’ and photographer Myah Asha Jeffers facilitated a photography workshop to explore ‘a sense of self’ with several of the women who attend USEMI (Black women’s mental health group) and are based at our Southwark Hub. The process over several months included discussions on self, rediscovering Peckham while walking and talking, and then taking the challenge of representing this within photography.
April – June Events
* The Women’s Service Peckham Hub is closed on Thursday 11 April *
Workshops and Drop Ins are as follows:
- Coffee Morning Drop-Ins: Every Tuesday and Thursday 10.30am-12.30pm at the Peckham Hub.
Tuesdays
- Movement with Lisa: 12.15-1pm at Peckham Hub
- USEMI Black Women’s Mental Health Group: 2.30-4pm at Peckham Hub
Thursdays
- Creative Writing: 12-2pm at Peckham hub
- Hub lunch: Thursday 25 April
Employment
Employment Support: our longest running programme supports people back into work at a pace that suits them, supporting them to feel ready both with skills and knowledge as well as mentally ready to take the next step. We are currently supporting families and unpaid carers (through a Southwark Works contract).
New Employment Support Programmes
Employment support for economically inactive people (economically inactive participants only)
- Offers tailored employment support to economically inactive residents with complex needs and multiple barriers to employment;
- Support targeted on residents who do not qualify for, or whose needs may not best be met by existing DWP support, including Work and Health Programme Pioneer Support;
- Support includes a mixture of outreach and engagement, community interventions, and key worker support to improve labour market outcomes to help participants move towards and into work.
Basic skills, life skills and career skills provision for people who are unable to access training through the adult education budget (unemployed participants only)
- Offers opportunities for unemployed participants to engage in learning and development, to upskill, and to move toward and into employment.
- Support targeted on residents who are unable to access appropriate AEB-funded provision, and who are not eligible for, or whose needs would not best be met by DWP funded provision.
- Deliver soft outcomes for participants e.g. building confidence, improving motivation, supporting wellbeing, personal development, improved management of health and mental health conditions.
- Support includes a mixture of outreach and engagement, community interventions, and keyworker support to improve labour market outcomes to help participants move towards and into work.
Employment Support Training Opportunities:
For further details and to register on the courses, please contact employment.support@pecan.org.uk
Heath and Safety Level
Food Hygiene Level 2
IT at Peckham Library
SIA Door supervision Level 2
Together
Together is Pecan’s Community and Life-skills programme.
Together provides a range of community, life skills and employability activities in a relaxed environment supporting people learn new skills, understand their rights, and make new social circles. Everyone’s welcome! Activities include free café, cultural trips, creative writing classes, crafts and support to fill in online forms. We signpost onto other Pecan services and partner organisations to ensure all needs are met.
International Women’s Day 2024 in Together
On 11 March we held an International Women’s Day event at Pecan where we welcomed new and regular visitors.
A big thank you goes to the amazing Southwark based women who came and spoke about inclusion for our IWD2024 event. Delorine a Southwark based priest, Demi a self-made businesswoman and CEO of D’Stylist, a team from The 4OC who ran a short session on an aspect of inclusion, Adelaide from CGL and our Wellbeing Lead who ended the day with a mediation. Plus, thank you to Saltash Construction who kindly donated to this event.
Letterpress Printing Community Day – 14 May, 11am-2pm
Michelle from Nice & Graphic will be ending her community workshop tour at Pecan on Tuesday 14 May. The community project titled ‘Peckham Perspective’, centers around the collection of messages from individuals within the neighbourhood. These quotes will then be transformed into typographic letterpress prints, each representing a single person. These posters will be a part of an upcoming art exhibition at the Peckham Arches Gallery in August 2024, serving as a collective installation that celebrates the spirit of community and collaboration.
Community Café
Our community cafe is growing in numbers, plus we are a warm hub too. So, pop down on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1-3pm for hot drinks, soups and snacks. To join the Together mailing list, please contact Vahsti: together@pecan.org.uk
Creative Writing for Wellbeing
FREE Writing course begins every Monday from 11 March – 22 April, 10.30am-12pm.
Please note: 1 April – No season, Easter Break
Facilitated by Wordsmiths – Creative Writing for Wellbeing in a relaxed environment which allows creativity to flourish.
Bread and Salt | Fridays: 10am – 12pm
You are welcome to relax with friends and make new ones.
‘Bread and Salt’ is a common phrase, rich in meaning across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia. We welcome all Arabic-speaking cultures. The drop-in offers a welcome and friendship to all, but in particular, to guests from across the Middle East and North Africa.
Bread & Salt is facilitated by W.E.C. International
Volunteers
At Pecan we have THE BEST volunteers! These fabulous people give up their time to help us provide vital services.
Chloe
(Central Team Phone & Admin Assistant Volunteer)
Chloe has been such an amazing attribute to our team since joining us in November 2022. Pecan took on the task of aiding Southwark Council with making referrals and applications to the residence in the borough for the Cost of Living Crisis scheme. We could not anticipate how much it would take off with us seeing up to 200 people a day on occasions, and if it was not for the support of Chloe, we would not have been able to reach as many people in the community and efficiently input the referrals and applications on the database at the rate that we did. Her weekly contributions certainly do not go unnoticed, and we are very appreciative and grateful for her.
Vacancies
Volunteering Opportunities
The Time of Our Lives | Until 21 Apr 2024 | FREE | Visiting Details
The Time of Our Lives focuses on the pioneering drawing practices of women artists and their impact on feminist activism from the 1980s until today. LINKSouthwark Online Book Group | Thursdays online 6.45-7.45pm | LINK
An all-welcome art class that runs at Bell House | Every other Saturday from 1-3pm (until 25 May 2024) | FREE | Sign Up
SE15
- South London Galleries | MOTUNRAYO AKINOLA: KNEES KISS GROUND until 9 June 2024 | The show features new work made during Akinola’s six-month residency. He draws upon his architectural background to examine ideas around space, comfort, nostalgia, ownership and post-colonial power dynamics.
FREE | LINK Peckham Fringe – A Festival of Culture | 1 May – 8 June 2024 | LINK
Peckhamplex Cinema – Community Cinema | Films coming soon | LINK
Staffordshire Street Gallery | Spring & Summer Programme | LINK
Peckham Levels Events | LINKS
Bold Tendencies – Summer Programme ‘Communion’ | LINK
