2022 Multipliers

Meeting older neighbours with so much life experience to share, in her home life as well as through North London Cares, inspired Adele to create GrandNanny. GrandNanny provides job opportunities for older people and tackles the growing childcare crisis in London. A local intergenerational childcare model that supports midlife and older people to acquire childcare roles within local families, Adele founded the organisation to build age-integrated communities, champion the underemployed, and offer reliable childcare for working families.

Adam is the co-founder of the Black Country Wellbeing Centre, a centre that uses community-led activities such as boxing, drama, music and yoga to bridge the intergenerational gap in Dudley. During the pandemic, the Black Country Wellbeing Centre played a key role in helping to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of local community members by nurturing a sense of pride and togetherness in the community. Adam is now keen to use this momentum to tackle other issues in the local community.

Ailish founded Queer Out Here, a hiking club for the LGBTQIA+ community, after realising how important being outside was for their mental health. Queer Out Here enables people to form connections with each other and with nature, lifting them up in times of struggle, using the outdoors and physical activity to improve wellbeing and to reduce loneliness. Queer Out Here also plans to work with other outdoor organisations to bring people from different communities together, and create an inclusive environment so that the LGBTQIA+ community can make the most of the great outdoors.

Marva is the driving force behind the Ryder Brow Community Allotment Society, which started when a team of neighbours decided to revitalise a derelict site in Gorton, Manchester. Marva’s aim is to create a safe, comfortable and inclusive green space for community cohesion and positive interactions in a natural environment. The Ryder Brow Community Allotment Society hosts gardening projects that are open to the whole community with a focus on people over 55, refugees and asylum seekers, young adults and people living with dementia.

Passionate about community-focused work, Katie created the Dandelion Arts Creative Ways to Wellbeing to uplift the voices of people in her area, creating opportunities for them to be heard and influence their community. The Dandelion Arts delivers creative art projects that encourage friendship, promote intergenerational connection, and empower older people and those living with social anxiety and other mental health issues.

Having found her own solace in hiking, wild swimming and nature therapy, Evie created Peaks of Colour, a Peak District-based walking club that provides people of colour with a safe space to prioritise their emotional wellbeing by connecting with nature and one another. By taking up space in the outdoors, Peaks of Colour aims to make the benefits of nature accessible to more people, and simultaneously to challenge racism in rural places.

Living in Bristol, a community filled with diverse but also fragmented communities, encouraged Daniel to work for Coexist. Daniel’s aim is to bring people from different communities and experiences together to bridge cultural divides through various activities, events and discussions including cooking, dance classes, theatre and drumming. As part of this ambition, Daniel is running The Bristol Commons – a community-led project seeking to inspire and revitalise members to collaborate with one another and purchase a building that can be run by the community for the community.

Built on her passion for food and to help reduce social isolation and loneliness in her local community, Anna created Food Friends to provide an opportunity for intergenerational connection, friendship and togetherness. Food Friends is an innovative meal-sharing initiative that connects volunteers willing to share an extra portion of their home-cooked food with a neighbour who would benefit from a delicious meal and a doorstep chat.

Her own journey from her upbringing as an orthodox Jew to converting to Islam 15 years ago inspired Anna to work for Nisa-Nashim, an initiative that brings the Jewish and Muslim communities together by building understanding and friendships. Anna works as the Group Liaison Manager and organises all-female groups run by Muslim and Jewish women co-chairs who strive to bring people together for social change. Anna helps these co-chairs to feel supported, nurtured, connected and less isolated.

In summer 2010, after noticing a real issue with loneliness and low self-esteem in his community, Alec felt compelled to leave his full-time job to create ACE Voices, an initiative offering a tapestry of projects that connect people of all ages and builds their confidence through music, arts, leadership mentoring and outdoor education. After more than a decade establishing ACE Voices, Alec wants to widen its impact by creating a youth leadership group that promotes friendship and understanding between generations.

Jamie worked in the Derby community to set up a recovery organisation offering a proactive approach to addiction, wellbeing and connection. Jamie saw the need to tackle stigmas by sharing the positive impact that people with experience of addiction can have in their communities. Having had his own personal experiences of support systems and services, Jamie is demonstrating how lifting the voices of people who have been there can reduce marginalisation and discrimination, and build a better future for all.