The Mall Wood Green donated its staff Christmas lunch fund of £1,000 to local charity, Haringey Giving. Centre owner, Capital & Regional generously matched the fund, taking the grand total to £2,000, helping the charity to deliver essential services in what has been an incredibly difficult year.
Since the start of the pandemic, Haringey Giving has raised over £200,000 and funded 49 local projects, providing essential support for many of the borough’s most vulnerable residents and communities.
The Mall’s donation will be used to support vital community projects, providing essential support to residents of Haringey who have been severely impacted by the recent crisis, as Colin Bowen, Director at Haringey Giving explains: “We are very grateful to The Mall for this kind donation. The effects of the pandemic are far from over and many people are facing the toughest winter in living memory. Your donation will help us fund more vital community support to help people get through this extraordinarily challenging time. The funding will be included as part of our Together We Can COVID-19 Fund, which is currently open for applications and has a rolling two-week assessment process.”
Haringey Giving is an independent partnership, which was set up in October 2018 after nearly three years of local consultation. Led by local residents, its aim is to inspire and enable Haringey people, communities, businesses and funders to give their time, talents and funds to support good causes across the borough.
“We exist to enable people and communities to take action, make improvements and overcome challenges in their lives,” says Colin. “Our priorities include children and young people, mental health, and skills and enterprise. We provide small grants for projects that meet a need identified in the borough by those who know Haringey best – its residents and the community organisations working here. We are responsive to emerging needs and release funds quickly to successful applicants.”
Currently the partnership is tackling issues such as mental health and isolation, food poverty, education and the digital divide. Unemployment is also a big concern. Colin adds: “Haringey has extremely high levels of furloughed staff (one ward has the highest level in the UK) and projected unemployment rates of 45% due to the impact of COVID-19. Enabling people to retrain and gain employment will be key to recovery. Unemployment has led to a surge in applications for Universal Credit, with many having to wait for benefits while trying to survive on a day-to-day basis.
Samantha Davidson, General Manager at The Mall Wood Green, comments: “At The Mall we are passionate about supporting our local community and I’m delighted that our donation is going directly to those who need it most right now. It has been an extraordinarily difficult year but by pulling together and working with the wonderful Haringey Giving, I know that we can make a huge difference this winter.”
