The worst of times brings out the best in humanity. Our partnership over the last year has clearly demonstrated this. We’ve both been responding, adapting and refocusing our work to meet the needs of our communities during this pandemic. At Katherine Low Settlement we closed our centre and moved quickly to support all of our members ‘virtually’, over the telephone and online. As the restrictions have eased, we’ve been cautiously resuming our face-to-face community services, whilst trying to keep everyone safe.
Francis Holland School and KLS are led by the same values of respect, collaboration, sustainability and kindness and your support has been invaluable during these difficult times. Over the past year we have worked together on a huge number of community initiatives including:
Spring Term 2020
Toys, Lego and Book collections for the refugee children and young people we work with during the first lockdown.
Summer Term 2020
Summer Appeal ‘Champions for Children’: FHS pledged £3,000 which, with the help of The Big Give match funding, helped us to raise over £16,000 for our summer holiday programme.
Christmas Term 2020
Year 7 Christmas Gift Wrap: girls and parents fundraised to buy gifts for our Love to Learn children; and you supported our Christmas Appeal: FHS pledged £7,122 for our education work with refugee young people.
Spring Term 2021
A busy term. Despite being in lockdown, Mr Cassell hosted a virtual Study Skills Session for our GCSE Study Groups and their parents. Dr Marshall hosted a Zoom workshop, on the new exam arrangements, for our young people and their parents. The FHS Technical Support Team set up a pop-up Laptop Clinic for our families with broken laptops, helping them get back online and back to learning. And finally, in March, pupils helped us walk an incredible 5 million steps, in just one week, for our Spring Steps Challenge.
Summer Term 2021
We welcomed Year 10 to the centre for a Community Day. The girls helped us tidy up inside and out. They also took part in a Fundraising workshop. We were so impressed with the fundraising ideas that we’re going to work together to make some of them a reality next academic year. You also helped us with our Summer Appeal: Champions for Children: to support our summer holiday programme.
All that remains is for us to say ‘thank you’ to everyone in the FHS community. We couldn’t do it without you. We are looking forward to a brighter year ahead and can’t wait to welcome you back in September to collaborate on new projects together.
Annabel Bennett 020 7223 2845
Community Partnerships Manager [email protected]
Katherine Low Settlement www.klsettlement.org.uk
Katherine Low Settlement is a much-loved, busy charity that has been at the heart of the community in Battersea, south-west London, since 1924.
With a few staff and a lot of volunteers, Katherine Low Settlement runs a range of its own popular community projects including educational courses and wellbeing activities. The charity supports children, young people and their families, older people, refugees and newly arrived communities of all genders, nationalities and religions.
The Katherine Low Settlement building in Battersea High Street, opened in 1924, is used for community activities and events, usually – until the arrival of Covid-19 – by over 500 people a week. Its rooms are available for hire at affordable rates.
Katherine Low Settlement is grateful for the funding received from supporters, trusts and foundations to enable the charity to continue to reduce poverty and isolation and bring Battersea together.
Aaron Barbour
Director
Katherine Low Settlement
Telephone: 020 7223 2845.
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.klsettlement.org.uk
Pictures
High resolution digital images available from Katherine Low Settlement press contacts.