Partnerships
Working together to strengthen our community
Partnership working is central to how Abbey Community Centre supports local people.
No single organisation can meet the wide range of needs within our community alone, particularly in a diverse and vibrant area like Kilburn and the surrounding neighbourhoods. By working collaboratively with a diverse network of partners — including health services, charities, education providers, public sector organisations and businesses — we are able to extend our reach, combine expertise, and create stronger, more effective support for residents.
Our partnerships help ensure that people can access the right support at the right time — whether that means improving health and wellbeing, reducing loneliness, accessing advice and services, or simply helping people feel more connected to their community.
At Abbey, we believe that more happens together.
Abbey Community Centre acts as a trusted community hub where organisations, services and residents connect. By bringing people and organisations together in one place, we help create stronger support networks and greater opportunities for the community.
Our partnerships span many sectors...
Abbey Community Centre collaborates with organisations across multiple sectors to strengthen support for residents - because more happens together. Our partnerships include:
🏥Health and wellbeing partners
Local GP practices, social prescribers, NHS and community health services, specialist health practitioners and therapists.
❤️Advice and support services
Welfare and benefits advice organisations, housing and legal advice services, mental health support organisations.
🤝Community and voluntary sector partners
Local charities and non-profit organisations, community groups and neighbourhood initiatives, organisations supporting older people, families and vulnerable residents.
🎓Education and training partners
Further education colleges, adult education providers, training organisations, universities and student placement programmes. These partnerships help create learning opportunities, work placements, internships and volunteering pathways, supporting both skills development and community engagement.
🏛 Public sector partners
Local authorities and council services, community development and neighbourhood teams.
🏢Corporate and business partners
Companies who support our work through volunteering, skills sharing and practical support.
🍏Food and sustainability partners
Organisations helping us reduce food waste and provide food support to residents.
Each partner brings valuable knowledge, expertise and resources that help strengthen the services and opportunities we provide.
Our key strategic partners
Abbey Community Centre works with many organisations, but some partnerships are particularly important in helping us strengthen support for local residents.
These strategic partnerships help us extend our reach, connect people to specialist services, and respond effectively to the needs of our community.
London Borough of Camden
Abbey works closely with Camden Council to support local residents through community programmes, children's services and wider initiatives that promote health, wellbeing and community connection.
As one of Camden’s Community Partners, we play an active role in strengthening neighbourhood support networks and helping residents access local services.
Camden Consortium of Community Centres
Abbey is an active member of the Camden Consortium of Community Centres (C4), a network of community centres working collaboratively across the borough.
Through this partnership we share knowledge, strengthen the voluntary sector, and work together to ensure community centres continue to play a vital role in supporting local residents.
Age UK Camden
Through partnership working with Age UK Camden, we help connect older residents with services and activities that support independence, wellbeing and social connection.
This collaboration strengthens the support available to older people across the local area.
The Felix Project
Through our partnership with The Felix Project, surplus food that would otherwise go to waste is redistributed to support local residents experiencing food insecurity.
This collaboration helps us provide vital food support while also contributing to environmental sustainability.
Good Things Foundation
Abbey works with Good Things Foundation to help address digital exclusion by supporting residents to build essential digital skills and confidence.
Through this partnership we help ensure older residents and others in the community can access online services, stay connected, and participate fully in an increasingly digital society.
Partnership in Action
Partnership working at Abbey takes many forms. Below are a few examples of how collaboration helps us deliver stronger support and opportunities for our community.
Tackling food insecurity and reducing waste
Through our partnership with organisations working to reduce food waste, we receive regular deliveries of surplus food which would otherwise go to landfill. This food is redistributed through our community food support initiatives, helping low-income families and older residents access essential groceries while also supporting environmental sustainability.
This partnership allows us to address both food insecurity and food waste, ensuring good food reaches people who need it most.
Supporting health and wellbeing through social prescribing
Abbey works with local GP practices and social prescribers who refer patients to activities and support at the centre. Many residents who experience loneliness, low confidence or long-term health conditions are referred to our wellbeing activities, social groups and community programmes. By providing welcoming and accessible activities, we help people build confidence, improve wellbeing and reconnect with others in their community.
For many participants, this partnership provides an important bridge between health services and community support.
Strengthening digital inclusion
Through our partnerships with organisations focused on digital inclusion, we support residents to build essential digital skills and confidence. Volunteers provide one-to-one support helping people learn how to use smartphones, access online services, stay in touch with family and manage everyday tasks such as online banking or GP appointments.
For many older residents, these sessions help reduce isolation and ensure they are not left behind in an increasingly digital world.
Corporate volunteering that supports the community
Local businesses and organisations regularly partner with Abbey through staff volunteering days. Corporate volunteers help with a wide range of activities including preparing community spaces, supporting events, assisting with food initiatives and contributing practical skills that strengthen our centre’s work.
These partnerships allow businesses to give back to the community while helping us expand the support and activities we offer.
What our partners say
“As a Job Hub Adviser with Camden, I provide career and employability support to asylum seekers and refugees living in contingency hotels in Camden. My clients face severe barriers to rebuilding their careers and lives in the UK due to their unique circumstances of forced migration, trauma, and lack of local work experience. Language can be a barrier too. Some clients have been unable to work for years, leading to low confidence. Volunteering is a great way to ease back into work, learn new skills, integrate with the local community and to regain some of that lost confidence.
This is where my collaboration with Abbey Community Centre has been remarkable. I am in awe of their willingness to support my clients. They have worked out creative solutions to meet clients where they are at, be in translating or interpreting in different first languages or accommodating other personal circumstances such as school runs. They don’t merely see ‘a volunteer’; they see a whole human who is keen to volunteer. They look at the barriers an individual is facing and ask the question, “What can we do about them?” The power dynamics between Abbey and the volunteer are equal.
The speed of execution between a conversation and execution of ideas is phenomenal. The communication is open and quick. Abbey CC go the extra mile by providing specific and constructive feedback on every volunteer after every session. When that feedback circles back to the client, it improves their skills, helps them walk a little straighter with confidence and enables them to feel loved and valued. Isn’t that what all humans look for – to be loved and valued?
Thank you, Abbey Community Centre, for a beautiful collaboration. I am excited at what else we would co-create while helping our fellow humans.” - Job Hub Advisor, Parul Banka (Camden Refugee & Asylum Seeker Support)
What our partners say
"As a new museum opening our doors in Camden, we want to ensure that we’re properly engaging the local community and celebrating their histories. Running a Show & Tell event at Abbey Community Centre was a brilliant afternoon of hearing directly from the community about what makes Camden so special. The staff at Abbey did an incredible job reaching out to the community and encouraging people to bring in their photographs and stories, making for a brilliant afternoon with everyone sharing stories amongst each other. Beyond the wellbeing element, the museum collected 76 photos for the collections." - Lisa Der Weduwe, Museum of Youth Culture
"The Camden Adult Community Learning service works in partnership with Abbey Community Centre to provide free classes for local residents. Abbey staff are pro-active in ensuring that the needs of local people are well met. They work closely with us to provide a programme that promotes active community participation and cohesion. Abbey CC maintains good communication with us about the demand for different classes. The programme helps people to improve their physical and mental wellbeing, build confidence and address issues of isolation and loneliness. The partnership with Abbey is very valuable to us and the Centre is a great asset to the local community." - Janice Etheridge, Curriculum Manager for Health and Wellbeing
What our partners say
“Abbey Community Centre provides much needed support to local residents. When you walk through the door, you are immediately greeted with a busy, well-used community resource with a broad ranging timetable of activities, including wellbeing, fitness, advice services, social connection, and more.
Camden Adult Community Learning (ACL) has worked in partnership with them for many years. Our Digital Inclusion programme targets mainly older residents with low digital skills, and we have worked with the Abbey Community Centre to provide accessible, beginners’ courses in basic digital skills.
Whilst we provide a tutor and digital devices, our funding from the GLA does not include paying for venue costs, and the Abbey Community Centre kindly makes their space available, in the spirit of real, community-focused partnership working. Partnerships such as this enables our work to have real impact – for example, our recent survey suggests that 92% of our learners said that their digital skills and confidence had improved, and that coming to a class had had a positive impact on their lives.
However, without centres such as Abbey, we simply wouldn’t be able to reach local residents at all. We are well aware that the costs of running a building and a charity infrastructure are increasing exponentially. The Abbey Community Centre works with residents who are the most vulnerable, and are amongst the least able to pay. Abbey is a fantastic local organisation and we will do everything we can to help them continue on a sustainable footing well into the future.” – James Drummond, Digital Inclusion Programme Manager, London Borough of Camden.
What our partners say
“I just wanted to take a moment to say a big thank you Jordan for your collaboration during the Get Online Week. It was great that you were able to accommodate our work with yours and I hope we can come and visit again in the future.” Tanja Galloway – Senior User Researcher, NHS England
‘Working with Abbey Community Centre was a great experience, the venue itself is big and bright and allows participants to feel comfortable. I had full support from Simone, which made the whole experience completely enjoyable, for me and for everyone else." Carolina Gonzales – Community Engagement Facilitator from Latin American House
What our partners say
“AES interns consistently highlighted the supportive and encouraging environment fostered by the team at Abbey Community Centre. They felt genuinely welcomed and appreciated the kindness shown not only to the local community and clients but also extended to them as interns. This inclusive and nurturing atmosphere significantly contributed to their overall learning experience.
A recurring point of appreciation was the opportunity to work with individuals from various age groups and diverse backgrounds. Interns informed us that this exposure provided them with a broader understanding of the UK’s NGO sector, which they observed to be quite different from that of their home countries.
Interns also informed positively on their involvement in a variety of activities, including community events such as the tech support sessions. They found their tasks to be engaging and diverse, which ensured they remained motivated and never felt bored throughout their time at the centre.
Additionally, the support provided by Abbey Community Centre in managing student wellbeing was commended. The staff were proactive and understanding in situations where students were unwell or delayed, ensuring that appropriate support and communication were maintained at all times. We are grateful for the enriching experience provided to our interns and look forward to continuing our collaboration with Abbey Community Centre in the future.” - Anglo Educational Services
Benefits for our partners
Working with Abbey offers partners the opportunity to:
- Reach a diverse local community, including many residents who may not otherwise access services
- Deliver services in a trusted and accessible community setting
- Collaborate with an experienced organisation deeply rooted in the local area
- Strengthen joint impact through shared knowledge and coordinated support
- Engage staff through meaningful volunteering opportunities
Our partners consistently tell us that working together helps them better reach the people they aim to support.
Partner with us
Abbey Community Centre is always interested in developing new partnerships that strengthen support for the community. We welcome collaboration with:
- Community organisations and charities
- Health and wellbeing providers
- Education and training organisations
- Local businesses and corporate volunteering teams
- Researchers, students and learning providers
If your organisation would like to explore working with Abbey Community Centre, we would be pleased to hear from you.
Please contact us to start a conversation.