Streatham Youth and Community Fund has been shortlisted for the Lloyds Community Fund 2014.  You can vote to help us win £3000 to make sure our work with children, young people and their families continues.  You can vote by SMS, Twitter or in a branch of Lloyds Bank from 2 Sept to 10 Oct 2014.  Whoever receives the most votes wins the top prize, with the other groups also receiving a sum.  Tweet #COMMFUND TMF for Streatham Youth and Community Trust or vote online at https://lly-cf.co.uk/TMF - You can also vote by texting VOTE TMF to 61119  - Remember you can vote three times.  Once each by text, twitter and online.

In addition to our work with children and young people, we also run an adult support group called Just Like Us. The group provides a place of respite for people with heavy responsibilities.  Many have caring duties which means it is difficult to get out of the house or take part in social activities leaving hem isolated and without friendship networks.  They are financially disadvantaged because caring can leave them unable to work or can disrupt career plans.  They can express feelings of depression, poor health, despair and worry about finance.  They feel unable to cope with life's issues because of poor mental health. 

The group meets for three hours once a week to take part in a planned programme of activities.  These include pottery, cooking, exercise, sewing and outings.  We also provide advice and referrals to other support agencies. It is one of the few respite drop-in groups in the area.  Members have described the group as a refuge or oasis.  It is a space where they can have time for themselves.

The Lloyds Bank Community Fund was set up to help local people have a positive impact at the heart of their community by giving grants to local good causes.  We are delighted to be shortlisted and look forward to getting in touch with the community to let them know why voting for us will make a real difference to Streatham and the wider community.

Sport, drama, outings and much more were enjoyed at both Streatham Vale Adventure Playground and the John Corfield Centre on Conyers Road from the beginning of August through to last Friday. 

Over 50 children per day dropped into Streatham Vale Adventure Playground to take part in a wide range of free activities.  Outdoor games like Kingball, football and basketball kept kids active while the art table was popular among the creative types.  They also played wii and playstation games.  Always popular were the trips to the seaside, theme parks, and swimming.

New to Streatham Youth and Community Trust this year was a dedicated Sports and Drama Project.  Young people could choose a two week intensive skills course in either subject.  The Sport project included specialist coaches in table tennis and archery.  Our in-house staff coached the young people in football, trampoline, swimming and bowling.  They also had a chance to row at Surrey Quays.

The Drama Project was a brand new departure for SYCT.  Experienced actor Daniella Downs led the young people in this Arts Council funded activity.  They started off with exercises in character, props, and then wrote a play, created props, rehearsed and finished with a performance for friends and family.