Achievements
Below are some of our key highlights over the past 20 years
Croydon BME Forum wins top UK Award – March 2023
- The Launch of our Wellness Centre, based in the Whitgift Centre aimed at the BME community to improve their health and wellbeing.
- The Croydon & Health Wellbeing Space
- Celebrating Key workers by creating a video with representatives from the community.
- Partnering up with the Caribbean and African Health Network for the forum’s first nationwide project on holistic health and mental wellbeing.
- Creating a range of online resources including a weekly updated list of emergency numbers for the community during COVID
- Hosting over 500 zooms meetings that have enabled people to stay in touch and keep informed during and after COVID.
- Helped 16 start-up organisations in helping them navigate and provide an understanding of how to build a viable business.
- We attracted over 600 participants to attend ‘ Young at Heart’ sessions since September 2020.
- Received £8000 from the Martin Lewis Emergency Fund to help with the recovery during Covid-19. Activities include providing Cultural Relevant food to the over 60s.
- Secured £34,000 from The Big Lottery to develop and work with the BAME Community.
- Secured £49,736 from MOPAC to deliver training and support to grassroots organisations that provide activities for those affected by Knife Crime.
- Successful campaign for the establishment of the Equalities and Cohesion Partnership
- 140 organisations accessing support: funds raised in excess of 3 million pounds examples include £75k for Croydon Mentoring Consortium, £10k for Steeright, £30k for Tutu Foundation, £9k for Elmwood Community Centre.
- Beacon Partner Award in Croydon’s Beacon award – ‘Increasing Voluntary Sector Service Delivery’.
- Beacon Partner Award in Croydon’s Beacon award for the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and our Local Area Agreement (LAA).
- Secured £500k for South London BME Partnership.
- Secured Croydon Links Contract in Partnership with CVA.
- Secured £500k for Capacity Building in partnership with CVA, CPHA and ARCC.
- Successful BME Summits including BME Mental Health Mind-the-Gap report Launch, Delivered Race Equality in Health and Community Question Time in partnership with the Voice Newspaper.
- Over 60 organisations went through sustained Capacity Building Support.
- Running numerous training workshops for member organisations covering different strands of capacity building including Business Planning, Managing Finance, Communications and Partnership.
- Bringing external funders to Croydon for our Meet The Funders sessions
- Significant increase in membership and following on social media, particularly on Twitter and Facebook.
- Informing members of developments in the sector including funding information, policy issues and new initiatives.
- Annual Black History Month launched successfully by Ed Miliband, former leader of the Labour Party and Bianca Miller, a former runner-up on the BBC’s The Apprentice.
- Lead organisation for the South London BME Partnership and fund holder of Capacity Builder’s funding of £440k.
- Delivering BME Mental Health Community Development Workers Project in Partnership with Off the Record for 10 years and continuing.
- Member of the National Coalition for Race Equality and contributing to national policy development.
- Member of Croydon’s External Funding Group, We have been actively involved in the following, development of the Croydon Strategic Partnership, the work on developing a long term vision for Croydon and the Opportunity and Fairness Commission.