Author: David Allsey

Shaping a fairer future from uncertainty by Jim Minton

Shaping a fairer future from uncertainty

By Jim Minton, Chief Executive. Joy* was a regular visitor to Toynbee Hall’s community centre, taking part in craft workshops with her friends and enjoying an active, healthy life. She’s now been isolated in her home for three months. I spoke with her as part of the hundreds of regular outreach phone calls we are…
Read more

Give young people the same megaphone as their adult counterparts

“The solutions are simple: we need young people to be given the same sized megaphone as their adult counterparts.”

We invited young activists from our youth activism project, When We Speak, to tell us about the impact that Covid-19 has had on their lives, and what people with power in education and local and national government could do better. Lottie describes the injustice of young people’s voices being systematically excluded from the political sphere…
Read more

Covid-19 and the case for the Green New Deal

“This crisis has taught us that lack of preparedness gets you killed”: Ann Pettifor’s talk on Covid-19 and Green New Deal

Extracts from Ann’s talk on Covid-19 and the case for a Green New Deal, organised by My Fair London, The Equality Trust and Toynbee Hall. Climate breakdown is going to be global. And according to the political economist and author, Ann Pettifor, Coronavirus is teaching us that “we don’t know how to cope with global…
Read more

A-statement-on-the-disproportionate-impact-of-COVID-19

Our response to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities

Our reaction to Public Health England’s findings which show the COVID-19 death rate is higher for people of black and minority ethnicities and in areas of high deprivation. The staff and trustee team at Toynbee Hall have read and discussed with deep concern the report from Public Health England published on 2 June 2020 on…
Read more

Proms at home

Proms at Home: Proms at St Jude’s announce free online music and literary festival starting Saturday 13th June.

This year’s music and literary festival will be online and will raise funds for Toynbee Hall and North London Hospice. Despite lockdown, Proms at St Jude’s Festival of Music and Arts, a long-standing supporter of Toynbee Hall, have announced Proms at Home this year. They will be delivering a programme of performances online starting on…
Read more

We want to commission a local artist to create an illustrated map of Toynbee Hall and Gardens

We want to commission an illustrated map showing Mallon Gardens, the surrounding buildings and people using the space to provide directions to visitors. Toynbee Hall has opened a new public garden, a rare bit of green space on the edge of the city, which we want to make a welcoming space and for the whole…
Read more

Volunteers Week 2020 - Laura's Blog

Volunteers’ Week: My experience volunteering in the Free Legal Advice Centre

Laura S M Humayun has volunteered with us for two years. As we thank our volunteers this week, Laura writes about what she has gained from the experience. This week is Volunteers Week, where we take the opportunity to thank all of our volunteers for their dedication and contribution to our work and to the…
Read more

Is online enough?

By Elizabeth Archer, Head of Service Design and Delivery at Toynbee Hall

Bee presenting at Community Research findings launch

“If I had a smartphone and Wifi…”: A call for digital inclusion

Bee is a member of Toynbee Hall’s Community Centre. She is also one of our community researchers taking action to improve safety and togetherness in Tower Hamlets. In this blog, Bee talks about her difficulties with data limits, what has helped her to get connected online, and learns from one of her friends who doesn’t…
Read more

Eid gift donations

196 children’s gift donations sent out to celebrate Eid

The gifts will be included in food packages sent out to households without recourse to public funds To mark the Eid celebrations on 22nd and 23rd May, the biggest celebration day in the Muslim calendar, we asked our team of staff and volunteers to be part of making it special for the children in those…
Read more

Fixed Button Language and accessibility tools