We need your help.
We are a completely community-driven initiative, and the work we do is solely done by a dedicated team of hardworking volunteers.
If you have the time to spare, we’d love your help to bring this project to life. Please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.
To learn more about our volunteer working groups and the different ways to be involved, scroll down this page and read the group descriptions.
Our working groups:
Communications working group
The Communications Working Group oversees digital, social media, press and web content. From the everyday social media posts to writing engaging content for the website, to ensuring we have a voice in both LGBTQ+ press and national press and more – the communications team is always busy speaking to potential and existing supporters and donors and platforming the fantastic groups, organisations and volunteers we work with where we can.
The communications team was instrumental in helping us achieve our crowdfunding goal of £100,000 in 2018, and is currently made up of volunteers with a broad range of experience across the spectrum of communications. We’re always looking for vibrant, diverse volunteers who can help us with our communications goals, particularly those with skills in areas including copywriting, PR, social media, design, web development, videography, content development and strategy and photography who are able to hit the ground running.
Community Outreach working group
The Community Outreach Working group makes sure the Centre is actively reaching out and listening to other LGBTQ+ groups, organisations, individuals and communities. Since the start of the project, it’s been our firm belief that the entire LGBTQ+ community needs to have their say on what the Centre is – truly for the community, by the community. Through their work, they have consulted, spoken to and worked with more than 100 different LGBTQ+ groups and organisations. Building up new connections and including more voices as well as fostering the existing ones is the key scope of this working group. We welcome everyone – especially people who are well connected to other, diverse LGBTQ+ groups already or would like to become so. Skills in networking, approaching of organisations and people, qualitative research, conducting interviews or setting up focus groups are, amongst others, what defines the volunteering work in this working group.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group
Equality, diversity and inclusion must be at the heart of everything we do, and this group works closely with all other groups to ensure that our events, and eventually our centre, are open and accessible to everyone.
The EDI group makes sure it has a presence across all other groups and works closely with all of our volunteers. In 2018, the team partnered with the Terrence Higgins Trust and Hackney Council to bring together a community building evening for LGBTQ people of colour. It was an opportunity to hear from key figures in the community, make connections with fellow LGBTQ people of colour and report back directly to City and Hackney CCG about the design of health and social care services to make sure they better meet the needs of LGBTQ people of colour. Throughout 2019, the EDI team will continue to bring together everyone from our community, particularly working with Community Outreach to make sure the voices of our community’s marginalised groups can be heard.
We are keen to ensure that our EDI group is as diverse as the community we represent, so we welcome interest from a broad, diverse range of folks to get involved in this important part of our project.
Events
Our events team plan and coordinate all of our events, from planning meetings to community gatherings and glamorous fundraising events. A huge part of the work to create the London LGBTQ+ Community Centre is centred around building community, and so meeting up in person in a way that’s as accessible to all as possible is crucial. In the past year, our fantastic team has created events like our Winter Fayre, our community picnic and our Crowdfunder launch event; and supported independent fundraising events by supporters too.
Memberships Working Group
The Memberships team focuses on volunteer coordination, welfare and retention, working to make sure that the volunteer experience is worthwhile and, above all, enjoyable. We created this handbook to make sure that every person who wants to get involved with the LGBTQ+ Community Centre can learn about all the volunteer opportunities available, and find a role that suits them best.
We also aim to already create a sense of community in the absence of a physical space by organising volunteer socials in close collaboration with the Events team. We are the first point of contact for aspiring volunteers, ensuring they have all the support and information they need to get involved. We strive to have a presence at every team’s meeting to answer any questions or listen to any concerns, and so we’re always looking for more volunteers to support us with this.
As well as the handbook, we’ve held internal volunteer events, making sure that these are varied, as accessible as possible, and not alcohol-focused. So far these have included museum visits, exhibition tours, picnics and community gardening activities.
We welcome anyone and everyone to get involved in Memberships. If you’re good at organisation and have a can-do attitude, even better! To get in touch with us, please email us at londonlgbtqcentremembership@gmail.com
Strategy, Advisory and Structure (SAS) Working Group
The SAS Working Group are working on the important paperwork that we need to become a fully-fledged organisation. The group is made up of volunteers with skills in areas like finance, law, accountancy, third sector, setting up a non-profit, business, logistics, operations, grant writing, and delivery of disability accessibility. We are always looking for volunteers who are able to help us with tasks like writing our business plan and getting registered.
Right now, the team is developing and refining the business plan for the Community Centre, and working closely with a professional advisory panel of experts. The group are sharing their skills in areas like finance, law, accounting, logistics, operations, delivery of disability accessibility and third sector specialism. Together they are creating the documents needed for us to get registered.
If you’ve got expertise in any of these areas, or are interested in our overall structure and strategy, we would love to hear from you.