East London, famous for jellied eels, EastEnders and home of West Ham United and the 2012 Olympics, is an area that faces many challenges within local communities that are seen across the country. Hard working charities and community organisations often step in to address these challenges. Here at Upshot we are extremely proud to be working with four organisations that operate in these neighbourhoods who try and make a positive difference to individuals and their communities.
Ascension Community Trust and West Silvertown Village Community Foundation both operate within a short DLR ride from Bank, whilst Bonny Downs Community Foundation and Alternatives Trust are located in East Ham and Plaistow respectively.
Upshot, as a monitoring, evaluation and learning tool for Not-for-profit organisations allows these organisations to record and evidence their impact to funders, enabling them to receive continued financial support. In the first nine months of 2019 alone, these four organisations registered nearly 5,000 sessions and recorded over 86,000 attendances.
As Chelle Coulton, Interim COO, comments:
“Upshot quickly became part of the furniture at BDCA. With so many different activities on offer to our diverse community, it is an essential tool through which we can keep track of our service delivery as well as the achievements of our service users, enabling us to monitor, evaluate and demonstrate organisational impact, project effectiveness, and individuals’ progress towards their goals. We love the high-quality support our staff receive from the Upshot team and the ability to input meaningfully into Upshot’s ongoing development to help ensure it continues to work well for us.”
Bonny Downs Community Association have been using Upshot since 2016 to support their work that encompasses a wide range of activities. Helping to promote community cohesion, tackling isolation, encouraging healthier lifestyles and addressing the root causes of poverty in the local area. Led by engaged and enthusiastic staff and volunteers they continue to be great advocates of the system and often work closely with the Upshot team regarding product development.
Ascension Community Trust aim to provide imaginative and sometimes risky local services to cover gaps in mainstream provisions, particularly for the young, the elderly and the hard to reach.
Alternatives Trust was founded in 1994 as a professional and confidential service to anyone experiencing any pregnancy related issues. Either beforehand, pregnancy loss or continued support with their work as part of the ‘We Are Family’ project. These hard-working staff members also arrange for clothing and food donations for beneficiaries as well as running a community Café and delivering a summer social!
West Silvertown Village Community Foundation started using Upshot earlier this year after being shown the system by Bonny Downs. Their work is mainly delivered from their Royal Docks base. A wide range of activities are again delivered here to encourage participation from a wide range of participants across the local population. These activities range from education, sports activities, wellbeing, art as well as delivering sessions to under 5’s.
These four organisations continue to do fantastic work for all members of their local communities, and we are delighted that they use Upshot to record their delivery and make their reporting easier. If you have any questions or are interested in finding out more, please contact us on 020 7842 899 or info@upshot.org.uk
