The 999 Club is there when there is no-one else to turn to. Offering a warm and friendly welcome, the Centres resemble a living room where people can meet and talk together. As the name implies the 999 Club gives immediate help in any situation as well as long term support and encouragement to the most vulnerable members of the community. It provides friendship as well as links with the professional organisations which abound but which are often not approached, either through fear or ignorance of their existence.

In each Centre a paid manager is employed, supported by a team of volunteers most of whom were once users of the 999 Club themselves. The managers are not professionals, much more importantly they are local people who know the area and the particular inherent problems. They have first hand experience of many of life's hardships, and have developed commonsense strategies for coping with these. They are a silent army working not for financial gain or status, but because they care. In just one day the four Club Centres can see up to 80 people - each one given a warm and friendly welcome. Unconditional acceptance is the essence of the 999 Club. Never criticising, never moralising, never questioning - support and trust are the 999 Club personal ingredients.

Founded in 1992, the 999 Club now has 3 centres in the London Borough of Lewisham open weekdays between 10am & 5pm. The highlight for 2002 was the opening of the enlarged centre at Deptford which includes a play area where pre-school children from deprived backgrounds can come with or without parents to be cared for, fed and when necessary given medical attention. With the help of The Woolnoth Society came the development of Lady Florence Hall. It has become what it was designed to be - an indispensable resource for the local community. Regular weekly events include church services, karate, tap dancing and yoga as well as exercise classes. Local business uses the premises for seminars and workshops as well as training and staff development. Line dancing and relaxation classes are extremely well supported as are 999 Club special one-off events.

In 1990, Alexander Gravenstein established with nil assets the charity Brick by Brick London Home Activity Group (LHAG) which provides permanent accommodation for the homeless.

To raise funds, Alexander wrote and published the book "The Wildlife of St. James's Park" and has stood with his collecting tins for 13 years and thousands of hours on Underground and British Rail Stations, forever telling millions of commuters "Homeless is not hopeless, with your help. We desperately need your help", in his distinctive voice.

The Charity gives homeless and unemployed people the opportunity to help build and renovate buildings, thereby learning a skill for life under the supervision of qualified tradesmen, and providing themselves and others with decent homes so that they can lead independent, self-sufficient lives.

November 2002 saw the completion of the Trafalgar Avenue project. A plot of land was developed which saw 12 flats completed and 31 people (24 adults, 7 children) re-housed. They can now look forward to rebuilding their lives. The Old Kent Road building was bought and restored in 1994. It now consists of 6 studio flats, one laundry room and one charity shop/information centre. The Queens Road building was bought in 1996 and restored so that it now consists of 3 studio flats, 4 one bed flats, 4 two bed flats & one laundry room. Work is ongoing on the Millennium Project which will be the charity's first People's Training Centre/Building College, where accommodation for homeless students, classrooms, workshops and administration offices will all be found under one roof. There will also be a recreation centre and refectory. For more details on these and other projects visit the Brick by Brick website at the URL below.

The Convent of Mercy in the heart of the East End is run by Sister Mary Lawrence. Caring for the underprivileged community throughout most of the year, it is at Christmas time when a little donation can go a long way. A visit and a little gift to the homeless and needy families, to the elderly people living on their own and also to people in care homes enables them too to enjoy the festive season.

The Convent of Mercy organise a carol festival at some of London's tube stations to ensure those of us not so fortunate are not so forgotten. Sister Mary Lawrence also does a lot of Fund Raising throughout the rest of the year. Below is a photo of her collecting money at Victoria Station. She was granted a permit from the station manager to collect one day a month and on that day collects from 7am till 8pm, helped by volunteers and in the evening some local pupils. Amongst the volunteers are some formerly homeless people, grateful of the help they received in the past.

Between the funds raised through collecting and the funds received from The Woolnoth Society, The Convent of Mercy aims to continue to support the homeless and underprivileged in the community.

It has long been the aim of the Greenwich Toy and Leisure Library to provide help and assistance to children and adults with special needs, particularly those with physical and sensory disabilities, which will enable them to participate in a range of activities and experiences that so many other children of their age take for granted. This is not only reflected in our mission statement but in the direct Òhands onÓ work we do with young people with disabilities throughout the year who attend our youth club, play schemes, short term breaks, day trips and outings.

The Toy Library began 27 years ago with a tiny fraction of the stock that it holds today. Parents have the privilege to buy whatever is affordable and takes their child's fancy at the time, but for the Greenwich Toy Library it is essential to stock toys that promote the principles of good play as well as being fun to use.

Lending and play sessions give children the opportunity to try out toys and equipment before taking them home. Quite often the Toy Library is the first place that very young children get the opportunity to interact with others and the play sessions provide the ideal setting actively promoting integration. There is also a mobile service which visits special schools and centres to either lend toys or set up play sessions for the children and young people who would not normally get a chance to try out toys and equipment. Members can also borrow Mobile Sensory Units to use in their own homes or centres in the borough and these are increasingly used by adults as well as children.

The Woolnoth Society has given two grants to the Greenwich Toy Library enabling this centre, held in a converted church, to purchase more play equipment for the disabled youngsters and for the building of an additional Ôsensory room'. It also sponsored an individual by purchasing a ramp and a lift to enable access and use of the garden at home.

Hoxton Health Group (HHG) has been in existence for 13 years providing complementary therapies such as acupuncture, osteopathy, homeopathy and massage as well as exercise and relaxation classes to people over 60 years old suffering from chronic degenerative diseases associated with old age, mainly arthritis, heart conditions and osteoporosis. The organisation was set up by a group of local people who wanted to be more in charge of their health care. It is user led, with 90% of management committee members being service users.

HHG operates in the London borough of Hackney and the City of London, the poorest Health Authority area in the country with an illness rate 27% above the national average, supporting around 300 older people each year. It provides 90 individual complementary health care sessions per week, as well as gentle exercise and relaxation classes and self-help groups for the elderly aiming to equip them with coping strategies for chronic diseases. These services help older people to remain as mobile as possible, enabling them to lead independent lives within the community. The users of this service come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and HHG targets economically disadvantaged people who would otherwise not be in a position to benefit from complimentary healthcare. A large number of users are also carers, looking after a relative with a severe illness often 24hours a day. Through Hoxton Health Group, these carers often find the strength to carry on under very stressful and demanding circumstances.

HHG also serves as a meeting point for its members reducing the issues of social isolation. It is here members can come and make informed choices regarding their healthcare and discuss their problems with professionals to find the optimum strategies to address physical as well as mental health issues such as depression.

The Woolnoth Society regularly gives donations to HHG and has sponsored physiotherapy for elderly people with acute arthritis and rheumatism.

For over 100 years WELCARE has offered a child focused non-discriminatory social work service to parents and children in the Southwark area. WELCARE aims to support disadvantaged families who are socially isolated and economically deprived. The aim of the service is to prevent children being affected by street crime, family unit breakdown, stranger abuse and misuse of alcohol or drugs.

WELCARE works closely with local schools, services and community groups and this partnership working leads to better understanding of the needs of parents and children, which in turn leads to the development of services designed to meet the needs of local families.

WELCARE have successfully run play schemes for the last 7 years for the children from Aylesbury Housing Estate in South London, the largest in Europe! It has 32 different ethnic groups who speak 37 different languages. The estate is also a high crime area and families become socially isolated because of their fear and experiences of violent crimes. For many of the families, their income is state support and many of those who do work are on low wages. It is a cycle of poverty and deprivation and WELCARE's organisation of a Summer Playscheme alleviates some of the pressures these families experience daily. It is a chance for all to experience and benefit from the freedom others can take for granted, to play and have fun without feeling inhibited by their difficult and challenging environment.

The Woolnoth Society has contributed to all of the above schemes and due to its contributions WELCARE were able to offer the most deprived children of Aylesbury a short holiday in Devon which they would otherwise not have had.

Tower Hamlets Opportunity Group is a small voluntary organisation based in one of the most deprived areas of east London. They provide stimulating play for disabled and non-disbaled under 5s from widely differing backgrounds. The Centre seeks to create an environment in which parents / carers of children with additional needs and / or profound disabilities can take advantage of, and become involved with the services provided. With help from skilled and dedicated staff, young children are encouraged to achieve through a wide variety of activities, from painting and clay modelling to music and drama.

The Group has been so successful in helping local young children that it has got to the point of having outgrown its current location in the Mission on Commercial Road. They are currently registered for 16 children but have expanded to use other areas of the church to cater for 28. Plans are underway to move to the new Mile End Childrens' Park site. This will transport the group to a location in the middle of a park. Whilst this is a great opportunity and would be a welcome move, a lot of work must be done to ensure the safety of the young people at the new location. The whole process is both time consuming and costly.

Through the help of organisations like The Woolnoth Society, Tower Hamlets can make their vision a reality and enable themsleves to provide an even better quality service to an increasing number of young people in the area.