Panel all set to map out the deserving projects in next round of Thamesmead funding

A new panel of eight local people are getting together to have their say on an investment of £75,000 earmarked for 25 grassroots projects for residents at Thamesmead.

The Thamesmead Community Fund (TMCF) will choose which projects will receive up to £3,000 from July 2024 – March 2025, and panel members will be paid the London Living Wage for their time.

The TMCF is funded by housing association Peabody and administered by the London Community Foundation.

Peabody claims to be leading Thamesmead’s long-term regeneration – a fundamental part of which, it says, is about collaborating with local people and partners to create a happier, healthier and wealthier area.

Between 2018 and 2023, Peabody awarded £230,000 to 114 projects through the TMCF. Each project was voted for by previous resident panels through a process which has now been passed on to new members: Agatha Thomas, Adedapo Dalley, Joana Carvalho, Nikita Hayward, Genevieve Norwick, Peculiar Medinus, April Mansaray and Esther Sesay.

Ms Sesay, who previously received a grant from the TMCF towards the award-winning Javan Coker Foundation, which she co-founded in 2018 to support youngsters with disabilities and special educational needs, said: “I live in Thamesmead so I know the area and I know a lot of the services that are provided.

“Being a part of the panel means we’ll be able to have some input in providing support to the community through different projects,” she said. “My hope is that we’ll be able to make sure that groups which may not have accessed the fund previously can now access it, because you have lots of people who do great work in Thamesmead but don’t have the opportunity to reach wider audiences.”

Other projects that have been supported by the TMCF include Mobile Power Gym, which offers free boxing sessions for 13 to 19-year-olds in the Moorings; ‘Thamesmead is Funny’ stand-up comedy workshops; health and wellbeing classes; and drawing workshops led by local artists.

The new panel members have already attended an in-person training workshop, and will have their first official meeting this week. Following this they will meet online periodically over the next two years.

Uzma Ali, Peabody’s community development project officer for Thamesmead, said: “We’re incredibly excited to be welcoming a new community panel to the Thamesmead Community Fund.

“They’re all super keen, happy to be on board, and ready to help social entrepreneurs and creatives deliver fun activities for local people. The Thamesmead Community Fund has proven to be hugely successful since it launched in 2018, which is thanks in large part to the community panel who play a vital role in the whole process.”

The money for the fund comes from income generated by location filming in Thamesmead as well as a contribution from the Peabody Community Foundation.

The next funding round will open in September 2024.

Pictured top (left to right): Agatha Thomas, Adedapo Dalley, Joana Carvalho, Nikita Hayward, Genevieve Norwick, Peculiar Medinus, April Mansaray and Esther Sesay (Picture: Thamesmead Peabody)