‘It takes 2’ wins Community Cohesion Award in Greenwich

Monday 19th of December 2016

In October, Avenues project, ‘It takes 2’, won the Greenwich Action for Voluntary Service (GAVS) Community Cohesion Award in recognition of their work in the area.

‘It takes 2’ in Greenwich aims to connect 50 people with learning disabilities with 50 people in their community based on shared interests, over three years. The project started in January 2016 and there are already some fantastic examples of people getting involved in local churches and joining dance and sports groups. People have also reported being and feeling more important in the lives of one another.

The awards ceremony took place at GAVS annual general meeting at Woolwich Town Hall and was attended by around 150 people working in the voluntary sector in Greenwich. Annie who is an ambassador for the project attended with her support worker Grace; Carly Halpin the project worker; Martin Chittell and Simon Goldsmith who are also involved in managing and evaluating the project.

Annie did an excellent job of representing ‘It takes 2’ on the night. She dressed very glamorously and she really enjoyed the ambiance of the event and the opportunity to meet a diverse room full of passionate people doing great work in Greenwich.

As part of the project team receiving the award, Annie delivered a visible message of what the project stands for: Being represented, being included and playing a positive role in the lives of others.

At one point during the ceremony, Annie reached out to touch Carly’s hand. This was poignant, as Annie, who is often resistant to touch, showed everybody she was comfortable and at home. Afterwards, Simon commented ‘It was very moving to see a moment of trust and solidarity shared between Annie and Carly during the event.’

Grace, who supports Annie said ‘I supported Annie to the awards ceremony at Woolwich Town Hall.  Annie enjoyed the event and was looking very glamorous.  She was excited to meet everyone at the ceremony and try all the tasty Caribbean food.’

Carly Halpin said, ‘It was a lovely evening and we all really enjoyed it. It was a surprise to have been nominated for the award so when they announced we had won it was amazing! Annie and I collected the award along with £200 for ‘It takes 2’ in Greenwich. I felt so proud of the team I work with, the work we are doing and to have achieved so much in such a short space of time. Winning the award has also helped to further raise the projects profile in Greenwich and we got to meet lots of people from other organisations who are doing some great work. I think we won the award because loneliness is endemic in society today, and the project is tackling that in a fun, creative and original way.’

Martin Chittell nominated ‘It takes 2’ for the award, he said ‘’It takes 2′ is exploring what it is to be connected in the community where you live. Avenues support people who face some of the greatest barriers to being connected to other people, yet have so much to give to their communities. The project unveils the gifts and talents we share and brings together people from diverse backgrounds who wouldn’t normally meet. It looks beyond labels like ‘disability’ and aims to form relationships created through shared passions. I think ‘It takes 2’ won the award because it’s trying to do something different, by taking a different approach to classic volunteering or befriending, with the aim of forming lasting and meaningful bonds between people in their communities.

Get involved with It take 2 or find out more. 

19th December 2016