Mayor’s Civic Awards winners

Individuals winners

Michelle Dornelly

Michelle Dornelly has helped and supported Hackney’s communities for years through her charity Children with Voices, which she set up over 30 years ago in response to seeing the devastating effects that criminal exploitation and food poverty can have on young people.

Michelle and her volunteers work hard all day every day to make sure that local communities do not go without. Michelle currently runs five food hubs, which have provided food to over 600 people a week, amounting to over 70,000 people since last March. This includes delivering food to over 60 older people; families in need; four homeless hostels and two nursing homes.

She manages a team of 50 volunteers, and over the Christmas period, she partnered with local businesses to deliver over 60 Christmas hampers to families in need, single mothers, young people and older people - including special sensory toy boxes for children with special educational needs.

She has also facilitated one-on-one support with a local career and welfare expert for people using the hub who need additional support and advice. She has been described as a true hero who embodies kindness, joy and inclusivity, and whose dedication towards supporting others knows no bounds.

Michelle said: “I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of Children With Voices and all our volunteers for this wonderful (unexpected!) nomination.

“Children With Voices is a grassroots charity supporting children (including SEN), young people and low income families, fighting holiday hunger and food waste. Our belief is that no child should go without food, clothing or the means to play.

“COVID-19, and the incredible response from our community, meant we could expand this work. We set up accessible food hubs across Hackney, feeding more families, and supporting the homeless, elderly and shielding, all without a permanent building.

“Looking back over the past 18 months, what we remember most is the people, from all walks of life, who have come together at our hubs to support each other. Local shops, businesses and community groups, from small cafes to national supermarkets, reaching out to offer help. Our volunteers put their safety on the line, every single day, to be there for others. Strangers who have become family, dedicated to their community no matter their own personal fears or struggles, with compassion, love and big smiles. They are Hackney at its very best and this nomination is for all of them.”

Alfred Mugabo

Alfred Mugabo is the Head Coach of grassroots football club Impact Football Academy, which supports children from all backgrounds and abilities between the ages of 5 and 15. Alfred has gone above and beyond to support hundreds of young players throughout lockdown, ensuring that they have positive and enjoyable experiences during what has been an incredibly difficult time for young people, who’ve been unable to meet with friends or attend school for months at a time.

Since March 2020, he has worked tirelessly to organise and hold several online events per week, including training, meditation, quizzes, competitions and inspirational talks from famous footballers. He has gone beyond the call of duty, including phoning local young people who he supports to check that they are doing okay, delivering football kits and Impact Christmas hats to young people across Hackney and delivering Impact Football Club cupcakes to NHS nurses.

He’s been described in nominations as a true role model for young people and an embodiment of Hackney’s community spirit.

Alfred said: “The best way of taking care of tomorrow, is taking care of the youth today. And that’s something me and my team strive for every single minute we are on this earth. Me and my team love the work we do, putting smiles on young people’s faces through sport. At Impact we aren’t a team, we are a family.”

Elaine Chalmers

Chef Elaine Chalmers has turned her passion for cooking and her love for Hackney into setting up community food initiative Poot It In Yer Bag during the pandemic.

Despite facing challenges herself after the restaurant she ran in Dalston had to be closed when her landlord tripled their rent, Elaine’s focus has been on how she can help others at this difficult time. She has worked tirelessly to prepare and deliver healthy and tasty cooked meals and generous food parcels to people in need through Poot It In Yer Bag, which is run in partnership with Children with Voices.

Using the catering connections she built up during her time as a Head Chef, she has sourced fresh fruit and vegetables for people in need, alongside running a successful social media campaign for donations from local people. She’s been hailed as a local hero, who has selflessly given to others and mobilized a community of volunteers who’ve helped ensure that vulnerable people get the support they need at this difficult time.

Elaine said: “I cannot believe I have won this award, I’m so touched, I couldn’t have done it without all the volunteers, people’s generosity, local restaurants and bars, especially Fruve London, and The Spurstowe pub for letting us use their space throughout lockdown, so thank you. It doesn’t take much to be kind.”

Organisation winners

E5 Baby Bank

The E5 Baby Bank was set up in June 2020 to provide struggling families with clean clothes, toys, nappies and other essential items. So far, they have supported families from Hackney and surrounding boroughs, including domestic abuse survivors, migrant families, homeless women and children, families on debt management, unemployed and furloughed families, women from prisons and people with alcohol and other substance abuse issues.

Over the past year, they have brought together an army of volunteers, most of whom are local mums, who help to sort, pack and deliver items, many of which are donated by the local community.

The organisation was set up by Paediatric Nurse Beautine Webster, who was also nominated for an award in the individual category by local mums and dads who highlighted her work to go the extra mile for them and their children; describing her as a mother figure who puts her heart and soul into helping families in need.

Bangala Covid-19 Advice Project, by Bangala Housing Association

Bangla Covid-19 Advice Project (BCAP), funded by the National Lottery, was set up by Bangla Housing Association in response to the disproportionate impact that Covid-19 has had on the local Bangladeshi communities. In partnership with other social landlords, community groups, Hackney Volunteer Centre, the NHS and Hackney and Tower Hamlets Public Health Teams Bangla staff and the BCAP team consisting of over 30 staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly during the pandemic to get the public health message reaching out to 10,000 households and 40,000 Bangladeshi residents in Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

They have done this by distributing translated leaflets and posters to residents’ homes, mosques, community centres, schools and doctors surgeries. They made direct phone calls to their residents and clients, and produced three videos in Sylheti, the most commonly spoken dialect in Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

These videos and leaflets were sent out to the community through Bangla and other social landlord’s websites and by using social media platforms, like WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Emails. Bangla’s CEO appeared on talk shows in the Bengali Community Sky TV channels. BCAP’s activities were regularly covered by the local Bengali print and electronic media, which have local and national followings.

Bangla Housing Association’s Chief Executive, Bashir Uddin, said: “I am delighted to hear that Bangla Covid-19 Advice Project (BCAP) has been nominated for the prestigious Hackney Mayor’s Civic Award. I am sure everyone at Bangla Housing, and all those associated with the BCAP project including our dedicated workers and volunteers will be inspired by this recognition of our work. I would like to dedicate this award to the Bangladeshi and other communities for all the hardship they have endured during the pandemic. My sincere thanks to the Mayor, Hackney Volunteer Centre and Hackney Public Health Team for their support for our work. I must also thank the National Lottery for giving us the grant to deliver this lifesaving project. Thank you.”

Round Chapel Old School Rooms, Clapton Park United Reformed Church

The Round Chapel Old School Rooms (RCOSR) is an established vibrant community hub and church in Clapton, which has provided essential services for its local community - such as a community nursery, family support services, adult social care services and fun clubs and classes for people of all ages.

Throughout the pandemic, RCOSR has gone above and beyond to support its local community, both physically and emotionally. Working tirelessly with volunteers and local food banks, it has delivered food parcels to 250 residents in need and coordinated a network of trained volunteers, who’ve provided practical and emotional support to over 40 families, and supported isolated and vulnerable residents with their mental wellbeing at this difficult time.

Joe Walker, Round Chapel Old School Rooms: “We’re delighted to accept this award in recognition of work we’ve done over the last 18 months and continue to do. None of this would have been possible without the collective response, commitment and dedication of all of our staff, volunteers and trustees and partners across the borough, who throughout the pandemic have enabled us to support people across our neighbourhood, who for a whole range of reasons needed us most in a time of crisis.”