In 2016 celebrity chef/grower Marc Diacono raised £65k in 28 days to crowdfund his Kitchen Garden School at Otters Farm. So here I am today, a relative nobody, trying to raise £65k in 120 days—owing to my lack of celebrity status! My ambition: To establish EDEN City Outreach in Tower Hamlets (East London).

I’m Allison Charles, for the past 4 ½ years I have been exploring ways to support my local community to address the sort of challenges that can make day-to-day life more than a little difficult for many. I’ve come up with a socially and financially sustainable solution, but I need start-up capital, £980k to be precise! But £65k will keep the wolves from the door.

£65k will enable me to: A) establish a base in the borough; B) start engaging with the community; C) establish a board of Trustees/form a Charity Incorporated Company and; D) start co-ordinating independent public services to provide COMMUNAL support.

The EDEN City Outreach model contains two key elements— ONE: A community-led green project, in this case a beautifully cultivated communal edible garden + kitchen + market; the primary source of future sustainable funding. TWO: A Community Support Network [CSN]. Think public support services for the collective; where other legal services providers might see 30 claimants in one week, we would host one meeting of the 30 to identify the root problem common to all. Then, working with the 30, support them to address the underlying cause—one campaign, one solution, 30 remedies (if not more).

Communities Supporting Communities is the only long-term financially and socially sustainable solution to meeting growing community needs; giving local people a legitimate voice in the governance of their own lives.
I’m asking each supporter to give just ONE pound and invite TEN others to do the same to help launch Tower Hamlets CSN #OneTenCSN. If you can give more—great! But I believe that if we each play a small part, together we WILL make a big difference.