At the heart of our Skill-Sharing Workshops and Access to Volunteering initiative is the aim of enabling people to overcome the constraints that the daily reality of poverty places on their opportunities for a brighter future.

Through supported volunteering placements and the opportunity to participate in community projects, the project seeks to build people’s confidence and help them reach their full potential by broadening their horizons, valuing their contribution and supporting them to prepare themselves for the world of work.

Over the course of the project, a number of participants have received multiple Southwark Star awards and gained qualifications in a number of subjects.

“I left school with only one GCSE, in Art, but I feel like I’ve got real qualifications now. This has shown me that working in an office means meeting people, it means job satisfaction, it means being able to use a computer and answering the telephone. But, more than anything, having a qualification means a lot to me… I wanted to see if I could get that certificate and get something that I never got when I was at school.”