Transforming lives through Kindness, Belief and Hope
Welcome to our January Newsletter
Our CEO’s goodbye message
It has been an honor and privilege to lead Pecan for the last 12 years. Thank you to everyone who has been involved. It has been a pleasure working with you and playing my role in the mission.
To read Chris’s full message, please click on the image or on this LINK.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024
What a year 2024 is promising to be. Our Give a Gift of Hope campaign will continue until 31 January 2024, so if you would like to donate, there is still time: LINK.
Christmas at Pecan L to R: Staff from Willmott Dixon bringing food donations. Ethan and Fran at the Pantry’s Christmas party and staff from Bishopsgate Insurance arranging donated books for the Christmas campaign events.
2024 is Pecan’s 35th Birthday! We began back in 1989 delivering an Employment programme and have seen many changes over the years as our programmes have flexed to meet the needs of our community. Now Pecan runs several projects all aimed at ending poverty in all its forms. We will be celebrating throughout the year and here’s to at least 35 more years of Kindness, Belief and Hope, at Pecan.
We are finalising our timetables and programmes and more information will be released in February (see our community area for January events).
Our free cafe will continue to run every Monday and Tuesday (1-3pm) alongside a range of other activities, so if you need a safe space to come to, to talk, to find out about support available, to meet people and to have someone lift some of the weight from your shoulders – pop by and see us.
Deborah Hayman-Nkhoma,
Head of Services
Fundraising Update
Thank you to those who helped fundraise for us at the end of the year:
Fundraising:
- HMJV HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture £1837 (for 2023 Observation initiatives).
- BPL Global £655
- Form SE15 Raffle, £1,073.70
- Tola, a club night event in Peckham- 8th December 2023 (amount TBC)
Donations:
- Clove Building
- DCUK FM
- The Garden
All those involved at Christmas campaign event:
- JP Morgan
- Bishopsgate Insurance
- Nortonrosefulbright
- WE Hopscotch
- Lucidgroup
- HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint
- Venture
- Coller Capital
All those involved in Warehouse/Pantry work:
- Equans
- Nobody’s Cafe
- Vanguard
Challenge Events 2024
London Marathon
Our brave runner for 21 April 2024: Ben Nice from TMT Finance.
Ride London
Holy Rollers will be taking the challenge again for Pecan on Sunday 26 May 2024.
Food Services
Southwark Foodbank, Peckham Pantry, Engagement and Southwark Food Action Alliance
Dignity Training for Food Services Volunteers
Do you currently volunteer with Pecan’s Food Services?
If so, Pecan is running a Dignity Training session on Friday 26 January.
If you are interested and you currently volunteer with either Southwark Foodbank or Peckham Pantry, please contact: Emily Monaghan-Coombs
If you are not a current volunteer but are interested in the training, please also get in touch.
Engagement and Campaigns
‘Call on your communities to help guarantee our essentials.’
The Trussell Trust, alongside the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has launched a petition as part of the Guarantee our Essentials campaign, which calls on the UK government to implement an Essentials Guarantee into Universal Credit.
Universal Credit should offer support to anyone in need of help, but here at Pecan and Southwark Foodbank, we’re seeing more and more people pushed to our doors because Universal Credit doesn’t cover the cost of life’s essentials, such as food and bills.
This isn’t right and must change.
Will you help guarantee our essentials?
We need people like you to take action. You see first-hand how low levels of social security affect people in our community.
Please sign the petition today which calls on UK political party leaders to support the introduction of an Essentials Guarantee into Universal Credit, which would ensure the basic rate covers our core costs and can never be pulled below that level. You can make a difference – sign the petition now.
Southwark Food Action Alliance – Food Map
A map providing information on a variety of low-cost and free food services across Southwark
Peckham Pantry
Peckham Pantry Christmas Party
Our Christmas party was well attended, and we had a queue from the start. As we are a community food service, we made sure those waiting were offered refreshments, music and an activity area for children. Even with the waiting the atmosphere was great.
Thank you to Paul Harrison and his marketing team from Tropical Sun Foods who came down to support the event and donated several lovely hampers for our customers. Peckham Pantry serves a culturally diverse community, so Tropical Sun Foods is an important supplier offering a range of culturally appropriate food products. Plus, the Pantry receive a fixed monthly financial donation from Tropical Sun Foods which in turn is used to purchase more food for the Pantry at Wanis.
Steering Group - 17 January 2024
Peckham Pantry Steering Group would like to thank everyone who stopped by at our Festive Coffee Morning in December. It was great to see so many familiar and new faces and have a chat!
Our next Coffee Morning will be on Wednesday 17 January from 10-11am at St Luke’s Church Peckham, Chandler Way, SE15 6DT. Join us to find out more about Peckham Pantry Steering Group and share your ideas!
Women's Service
The Southwark and Lewisham Women’s Hubs offer safe, welcoming, one-stop-shop support for those affected by the criminal justice system, and for women seeking support, information, and community.
Thank you to everyone who attended our Festive Event on 21 December
A big thank you to Lush UK for donating so generously to our women’s Christmas goodie bags. We made around 40 bags combined with Lush products and donations previously made by Tropic Skincare. Our women were over the moon with this. Thank you to everyone who attended our Festive Event on the 21 December. We all had a lovely time, and were overjoyed with the festive spirit everyone showed!
January – March Events
USEMI Black Women’s Mental Health Group: Tuesdays 2.30pm-4pm
Wellbeing and Self-Care with Alex on Zoom: Wednesdays 2pm-2.45pm (email womenshubs@pecan.org.uk for zoom link)
Clean Break Poetry Workshop: Thursdays 12pm-2pm (short break at 1pm)
Movement with Lisa – Starting 23 January: Tuesdays 12-pm-1pm
Comedy with Kym: Starting 18 January, Thursdays 11.30am-1pm, until 22 February.
Coffee Morning Drop Ins: Running every Tuesday and Thursday, 10.30am-12.30pm – tea/coffee, pastries, toast, crafts, colouring, quiz books, free Wi-Fi, warm space.
More workshops to be announced in the Spring.
International Women's Day 2024
DIARY DATE: This year we will be holding our International Women’s Day even on 7 March 2024, from 11am-3pm. Workshops, music, nail painting, crafts, meal, performances. More details to follow.
Employment
As a Southwark Works partner, we provide a range of 1-2-1 support and workshops to parents and carers looking to get back into work.
IT sessions on Tuesdays, from 30 January 2024 at Peckham Library
Beginners: 10am to 11am | Intermediates: 11am to 12pm
Pecan’s Employment Support are excited to offer a 10-week IT/Digital course in partnership with Peckham Library. The course is designed for beginners and intermediate learners and will be delivered by an experienced professional.
To secure your place in the first intake, please contact employment.support@pecan.org.uk
Please note that there are limited spots available, and once capacity is reached, you will be placed on a waiting list for the next available class.
Employment Support Training Opportunities:
For further details and to register on the courses, please contact employment.support@pecan.org.uk
- SIA for Security Level 2
- Emergency First Aid Level 3
- Health and Safety Level 2
- Safeguarding Level 2
- Interview workshop
- CV workshops
Together
Together is Pecan’s Community and Life-skills programme.
At the end of December, we arranged a Christmas party for our clients and members across Pecan. SFAA provided an origami craft session, we had party games, a Christmas quiz with prizes, festive craft with Drawing People Together and a lot of fun taking part in Karaoke. We experienced a high turnout and served refreshments with mince pies and hot food donated to Pecan. We thank all those who attended and made it an enjoyable day and closing of the year celebration.
Community Cafe
Together Cafe re-opened for the new year on Monday 8 January. Opening hours are Mondays and Tuesdays, from 1 pm – 3pm. The cafe is now officially being registered as a Warm Space – All are welcome. The cafe is free and provides a space to relax and socialise whilst enjoying the free warm refreshments provided.
Creative Writing for Wellbeing
FREE Writing course begins every Monday from 15 January – 19 February, 10.30am-12pm.
Facilitated by Wordsmiths – Creative Writing for Wellbeing in a relaxed environment which allows creativity to flourish.
Book Group
As we enjoyed our first book group so much, part 2 of our choosen book ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernadine Evaristo will continue in February – date to be confirmed.
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
Thrive and Future Men
As we put the final touches together for our 2024 programme, we have been in discussions with Black Thrive and Future Men to be part of it. Black Thrive started in Lambeth back in 2016 and they ‘address the inequalities that negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of Black people in Lambeth …’ with the aim to ‘transform the Black experience from surviving to thriving.’
Future Men work with young fathers from late teens up to ages of 25 years, will be in our Together space to meet with their clients offering one-to-one support and offering activities. Dates to be confirmed, and for further details email Vashti: together@pecan.org.uk
websites: futuremen.org | blackthrive.org
Volunteers
At Pecan we have THE BEST volunteers! These fabulous people give up their time to help us provide vital services.
Diane
A huge thank you to the fabulous Diane. Diane started with Pecan as a client with our Employment Support service, but quickly stepped in to help during the 2022/23 Cost of Living Voucher scheme, putting her newly earned skills in security to the test as we saw over 4,000 come through our doors!
Diane is now very much a part of Pecan, volunteering in our free cafe, Together and at our Women’s Service.
Diane embodies Pecan’s values of Kindness, Belief and Hope. Welcoming people through our doors with a beautiful smile, an infectious laugh and lots of tea! She makes everyone feel so welcome and always has time to listen to people.
If you are interested in volunteering at one of Pecan’s services, then drop in between 10am-4pm Monday to Friday, or email: welcome@pecan.org.uk.
Volunteering Opportunities
Chinese New Year Parade | Saturday 10 February beginning at 10am from Charing Cross Road and then winds through town.
Lunar New Year | Greenwich Peninsula, 10-24 February, 11am-5pm. A celebration of East and Southeast culture. LINK
Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival | Deptford Lounge | 4 February, 12pm – 4pm. Join us for one of our most highly-anticipated events of the year – our bi-annual event celebrating Vietnamese culture and traditions. Expect live performances, competitions, workshops and delicious Vietnamese food. Free entry LINK
The Sound Library | Saturday 27 January, 7-10pm | Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library. An unforgettable evening at The Sound Library – an open mic event that will leave you craving for more! FREE EVENT for over 18s. LINK
GALLERIES, GET IT TOGETHER: Listening Party | Saturday 20 January, 6-8:30pm | The premiere of our youth collective, the Art Assassins’ new podcast, Galleries Get It Together, made in collaboration with audio artist Weyland Mckenzie-Witter. FREE entry, to book: LINK
Book Launch at Market Peckham | Book Launch – The House on Rye Lane by Susan Allott and A Guilty Secret by Philippa East | Wednesday 17 January, 6.30pm. FREE event, to book: LINK
Age UK Lewisham & Southwark | Events and activity calendar LINK
