Going from start-up to grown-up

Please note: this post is 143 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

South London Cares is really excited by the news that, along with our sister charity North London Cares, we're receiving a major investment that will help us go from start-up to grown-up over the next 18 months.

The investment from Nesta, the Centre for Social Action and the Cabinet Officewill help us to develop our work, to prove our model has a strong impact, and to diversify our income over the next 18 months.

First, we'll be able to grow our team - so that we can deliver on our vision of mobilising young professionals to volunteer small amounts of time to support their older neighbours with a little extra time, practical help, social connection and human companionship through our Social Clubs and Love Your Neighbourprogramme.

Second, we'll be able to conduct a major impact evaluation on our work over a 16 month period - tracking how older neighbours' loneliness, isolation, wellbeing, confidence and opportunities may improve or increase over time, both in Lambeth and Southwark and above the river in Camden and Islington.

Third, we'll be able to experiment with some truly exciting new ideas, particularly to develop new revenue streams from within our ever-growing networks. Stay posted for myriad new ways you can support your older neighbours and South London Cares' organisational development - through fun runs, dinner parties, seasonal socials, and digital and in-work fundraising campaigns.

Finally, and importantly, we'll be able to apply all this learning to write down everything we've learned, and to develop a manual so that we can embed the Cares model in south and north London for the future, and seek new opportunities for growth over time.

More than ever, these prospects mean that we're going to rely on the generosity, spirit, creativity and sense of adventure of all our neighbours, young and old, in Lambeth and Southwark. So if you've ever thought about volunteering locally, but not known how, or if you've ever wanted to run a project that helps local people to genuinely improve their lives, now's the time to get involved.