Enhancing Wellbeing & Culture
The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) is one of the most diverse communities in the country, with incredible opportunities and significant challenges. The borough is usually associated with affluence, but a quarter of working residents earn less than the living wage. We plan to work with and support our local community, through the following Chelsea 2030 objectives:
Charity & volunteering
TARGET: increase direct and indirect charitable & community investment
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Case study: Cadogan Hall
Cadogan Hall was transformed from a disused place of worship into a world class music venue, celebrating the artistic and musical heritage of Chelsea. Cadogan wanted to bring the building back to life in a manner befitting its character and civic presence, extensively and thoroughly converting the space to provide new lighting and sound systems, with state-of-the-art acoustic technology.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has been resident since it reopened in 2004. The Hall’s 950 seats make it first choice for both the UK’s top orchestras and international touring orchestras. It is also the chosen venue for the world-famous BBC Proms Chamber Music Series and offers a vibrant selection of contemporary, jazz, folk and world music events as well as talks, debates and conferences.
Working with local groups, charities, education and religious bodies it provides space for and support to local cultural attractions and programmes of community events. Community use of the venue is subsidised by Cadogan and the Hall is a place for bringing people together and practicing creativity and inclusion.
Case study: Kensington & Chelsea Foundation
Cadogan is Principal Supporter of the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation. This enables hundreds of local grassroots organisations to benefit, ensuring that support directly reaches those who need it most. In covering the Foundation’s running costs, assurance can be given that every further penny raised goes directly to local causes and we actively encourage our customer network, from residents to retailers and restaurants, to join us in supporting the Foundation.
Funding for additional recent projects has also included:
- Enabling the Foundation, in partnership with Age UK, to provide weekly care packages for over 1,000 vulnerable and isolated people
- Further support, including staff fundraising activities, for the ‘Christmas in a box’ campaign to provide over 8,000 local families, homeless people or those at risk of isolation with support, gifts and food over the festive period
- Helping to bridge the ‘digital divide’, with remote learning a particular challenge for children unable to access the safe learning environment provided by school during the pandemic. Cadogan was joined by other local groups and businesses to directly fund over 100 laptops for youth organisations across the borough, reaching over 400 children identified as at particular risk
.