North London Cares is a community network mobilising young professionals to volunteer to hang out with their older neighbours and offer a little extra time, practical help, social connection and human companionship.
Albert is in his eighties and has lived on his own for many years following the death of his wife. He still spends a lot of time on his own, so when he heard about North London Cares (NLC), a charity that mobilises young professionals to volunteer to support their older neighbours, he was intrigued. Now Albert receives regular visits from Roger, who is in his twenties and lives locally.
NLC had the powerful idea of supporting older people by connecting with young professionals living locally in 2011, and grew rapidly in its first few years. Founder Alex Smith came to Pilotlight with ambitious plans to expand further. As he puts it:
“I needed perspective and the chance to look at the bigger picture. We were looking to go from start-up to ‘grown-up’ very quickly, and I had questions about how we were going to get to where we wanted to be.”
What we did
Although unsure at first that City professionals from large, global organisations would be able to relate to and advise a small organisation, Alex says he was quickly reassured.
“There was a complete trust in the room and everyone was very respectful and supportive – we all wanted to do the best for the organisation.”
Practically, Pilotlight 360 took Alex out of his comfort zone and made NLC address issues to enable their growth. This included managing risks, getting the right skills in place, effective recruitment, management and oversight in a growing organisation, and developing the board to support the leadership. During a period of rapid change, the space to pause, think, reflect and process was invaluable in giving Alex and NLC the confidence to achieve their ambition.
Outcomes
During the period of working with Pilotlight, North London Cares tripled their staff numbers and launched a new operation in South London. As a result of plans put together during the project NLC also received funding from NESTA – a foundation supporting innovation. Today the charity continues to flourish while sister charity South London Cares has been hiring staff, reaching out to older adults and young professionals and is now operating a similar turnover.
All of this came from a great idea in 2011, but without the structure and support to make it happen that idea may never have become reality. By supporting NLC to grow effectively, Pilotlight was able to help more people like Albert to connect with others in their neighbourhood and not feel lonely and isolated.