Newham residents raise £1,600 for the Magpie Project

Residents and the Mayor of Newham standing with the £1600 cheque for the Magpie Project.

​​Newham residents have donated £1,600 for the Mayor of Newham’s chosen charity, the Magpie Project which provides services to mothers with housing needs and their children.

Money was raised through a collection at Newham Council’s music extravaganza Under the Stars with many residents providing generous donations. Additional donations were also collected through Newham

Council staff participating in Christmas Jumper Day on 14 December.

The Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz and Councillor John Gray, Deputy Mayor (statutory) and Lead Member for Housing Services, presented a cheque to the project for £1,600.

The Magpie Project provides a safe and fun place for mothers and under fives who are in temporary or insecure accommodation. They provide art activities, messy play, nutritious snacks, a healthy lunch and other refreshments. The project also works with other services such as housing charity Shelter, health and law organisations and Newham Council’s Workplace to help mothers who visit get the advice and support they need.

Mayor Fiaz said: “I am a huge admirer of the Magpie Project and in awe of the volunteers – many of them mothers themselves – who give up their own time to provide this service. A service such as this should not be necessary. I am committed to tackling homelessness with compassion and care and I am looking at how we can provide different forms of temporary accommodation which is more appropriate and provides some stability as well as increasing the number of homes at social rents.

“As that work is still in the early stages, I am grateful for what the Magpie Project provides which is a lifeline to many and I would like to thank those residents who have made generous donations so we can present this cheque. We are looking at how we can help the project in other ways too – we have undertaken an assessment of the Lodge, the building the Magpie Project uses, to see what improvements we can make. I will also be meeting with the project in the new year to deal with issues raised around how mothers in temporary accommodation are treated by Newham Council.”

The Magpie Project is located at The Lodge Forest Lane Park, Magpie Close and is open Mondays and Wednesdays between 10am and 2pm during school term times only. For more information visit www.themagpieproject.org​

Published: 18 Dec 2018