Wandsworth Care Alliance

Spotlight on Bright Path Unity Village CIC: Empowering Young People and Families in Wandsworth

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Bright Path Unity Village CIC is a new, community-rooted organisation based in Wandsworth, dedicated to empowering young people, young parents and families to build stable, healthy and fulfilling lives.

Bright Path exists to uplift voices that are often unheard and to create safe, inclusive spaces where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive. Through mentoring, wellbeing support, life skills development and culturally responsive community programmes, the organisation works alongside residents facing barriers related to education, housing, mental health, parenting, employment and navigating local systems.

Their mission

Bright Path Unity Village CIC’s mission is to support young people and young parents in Wandsworth through practical guidance, emotional support and advocacy. Their work is rooted in early intervention, prevention and long-term empowerment helping individuals build confidence, resilience and positive futures.

Their approach blends one-to-one mentoring with creative, youth-led group activities and community-based programmes that promote wellbeing, leadership and connection.

Current projects

Bright Path delivers a range of targeted projects designed to meet the needs of different groups within the community:

  • Empowering young girls – Empowering young women to rise, build confidence and thrive.
  • Next Generation – Supporting young men to challenge harmful stereotypes and develop strength through respect, purpose and accountability.
  • Rebuild – Helping young ex-offenders rebuild confidence, direction and a sense of belonging within the community.
  • Bright guides – A peer mentorship trainee programme that equips young people to lead and support others with compassion and confidence.
  • Bright futures – Supporting young parents to maintain stable family networks and grow in confidence, skills and wellbeing.

Bright Path’s work spans several key areas:

  • Mentoring & Coaching – One-to-one and group mentoring to help young people set goals, navigate challenges and access opportunities.
  • Life skills workshops – Sessions covering financial literacy, employability, digital skills, leadership and personal planning.
  • Wellbeing – Activities such as meditation, journaling, emotional regulation and confidence-building.
  • Young parent support – Peer support groups, parenting workshops, family activities and signposting to services.
  • Advocacy – Accompanying young people to statutory meetings, housing appointments, court hearings and interactions with services.
  • Inclusive practice – Occupational therapy-informed adaptations to ensure activities are accessible for disabled young people and parents.
  • Community events – Youth forums, cultural celebrations and inter-generational activities that strengthen community connections.

What the Community thinks

The impact of Bright Path’s work is reflected in the experiences of those they support:

“Bright Path helped me rebuild my confidence after leaving school. The mentoring sessions showed me I’m capable of more than I thought.” — Young person, 17

“As a young dad, I didn’t know where to start. The parenting group gave me support, practical help and a space where I didn’t feel judged.” — Young parent, 20

“Having someone sit with me in my housing meeting made a huge difference. I finally felt like somebody was on my side.” — Young person, 18

“The workshops helped me manage my anxiety and learn new life skills. I feel more in control of my future now.” — Young woman, 22

Get involved

Bright Path Unity Village CIC relies on community support to keep services accessible and expand their reach. There are many ways residents, professionals and organisations can help:

  • Volunteer as a mentor or peer supporter
  • Deliver skills-based workshops (e.g. CV writing, digital skills, creative arts, wellbeing)
  • Partner with Bright Path on referrals, joint programmes or events
  • Refer young people who may benefit from mentoring, wellbeing support or advocacy
  • Support inclusive practice through SEND or disability expertise
  • Donate or sponsor resources, including space, equipment or materials
  • Attend or support community events

Get in touch with them and learn more!

Bright Path Unity Village CIC
CIC Number: 16739333
Email: brightpath.village@gmail.com
Phone: 07415 958598
Instagram: @Bright_pathcic

Bright Path Unity Village CIC is building a future where young people and families feel supported, heard and empowered, and they’re inviting the Wandsworth community to be part of that journey.

Volunteering workshops with our expert Rob Jackson

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On Tuesday 7th Ocotber 2025 we held “Volunteering Is Changing And So Must We” training session online with Rob Jackson. This session was the first out of 3 on volunteering. This session looked at some of the key ways in which society is changing and how these changes affect volunteerism.

In fact, it’s always changing because volunteering doesn’t exist in a bubble. How we all live impacts how we all think about and engage with volunteering. In this free online session, Rob Jackson outlined the big shifts in volunteering today.

If you’d like to view the slides from this presentation they can be found here.

Our second session was on “Recruitment and Selection” which took place on Tuesday 21st October. In this workshop Rob shared a five stage process for effective volunteer recruitment, starting with tips for creating effective and attractive volunteer roles. We also explored why good customer service is an essential part of engaging new volunteers. Participants left the session with with tips and actions that will help their recruitment efforts in future.

If you’d like to view the slides for this session they can be found here.

Our final session will be on the 18th November from 10am-11:30am where you can have the chance to ask our expert Rob any questions on volunteering. Sign up here.

“Thank you and WCA so much for arranging such things to help voluntary groups in the community of Wandsworth succeed.”

“These are valuable sessions and really helpful to people like me as Trustee for a voluntary Community group with no previous experience in these things.“

Sustainability September 2025: A Passion for Community & Sustainability; Paul’s Volunteering Story with Power 2 Connect

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Paul’s volunteering journey
Paul who came through the volunteering Wandsworth platform after a successful google search of “Wandsworth Volunteering” is a resident of Battersea and is currently a volunteer at one of our provider charities on the platform, Power 2 Connect. Paul who has previous volunteering experience at the London 2012 Olympics is no stranger to the world of volunteering.

Having registered to the Volunteering Wandsworth platform and seeing all the roles available found that Power to Connects posted volunteering opportunity caught his attention. Paul says he “thought it was an interesting fit”. Paul focuses on the digital champion and digital drop ins aspect of the Power 2 Connects work.

Paul has a background in business, financial exclusion and digital exclusion which he is very keen on. He also has an interest in volunteering, some spare time and lives locally which has also been a driving force behind deciding to volunteer.

Paul has been volunteering with Power 2 Connect for at least a year starting in September 2024. Doing 2-hour sessions every 2 weeks and more days when he is available. The process of joining the Power 2 Connect team was a quick process with Paul shadowing and assisting with helping the service users early on. Joining Power 2 Connect was not about gaining skills for Paul but about offering his time.

Power 2 Connect’s sustainability work and Pauls thoughts on their work

Paul feels it is very interesting how the sustainability piece comes into the work that is done around donations and grants of hardware. Donations come in and things are tidied up and cleaned up both physically and from a software basis and passed on to people who might not have access to a tablet or laptop to help them with their homework or job applications. This is both a digital exclusion matter and also solving another problem around sustainability. It’s helping perfectly working equipment that may no longer be useful for the initial purpose it was bought whether by the council or individual and giving it a new life which helps to avoid and reduce the amount of e-waste caused.

It’s a passion of Pauls that we avoid things going into landfill believing that the best way is not to recycle but to instead reuse. Paul knows that the reused equipment may have only years left of use but believes that this is better than having to get new resources out of the ground and putting old resources into the ground unnecessarily. The digital exclusion and sustainability create a beautiful virtuous circle whereby Power 2 Connect is helping the community to use resources in a way that would never be possible if you were trying to buy things off the shelf and providing access as well as the skills to use the equipment and give it another life.

This hopefully helps young people to succeed in their schooling which only then goes on down the chain and down the generations to help people change the world in whatever career it is that they are doing. You have to look at the long term view of how these small aspects can have a snowball effect further down through life, which excites me. There might be someone there who without the laptop wouldn’t get those marks, wouldn’t get that degree and wouldn’t do something amazing whether that is healing people, creating amazing literature or whatever it is that they are going to do by having access to those tools and those skills.

Paul’s thoughts on his impact at Power 2 Connect through volunteering in the community

I feel good knowing that I can help chip away at confusion or a lack of knowledge, and hopefully someone leaves with a bit more understanding than when they arrived. A lot of what I do is about building confidence, giving people the chance to experiment and apply what they’ve learned. When that happens, they’re able not only to solve problems themselves but also to pass on what they’ve learned to others. It feels great to know I’m making a difference in someone’s life.

I also enjoy helping to fix and repurpose laptops and being part of the team working toward this bigger purpose. Power 2 Connect are very good at keeping volunteers informed about the wider impact of our work, which makes a big difference. I see regular service users coming back to the drop-ins, which shows both how valuable the service is and how much people want to keep learning.

It’s fantastic to see that growth. When people return, you notice their confidence has grown, their skills are building, and the conversations move beyond the basics. That’s when you know real progress is happening.

Paul enjoys volunteering for now whilst he has the time and hopes to continue with Power 2 Connect.

To volunteer or support Power 2 Connect click here.

Sustainability September 2025: Power2Connect Volunteer chat with Joshua

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How did you come across Power2Connect?
Volunteer: I was speaking to my teacher, and he suggested that I should check for volunteering opportunities on the Volunteering Wandsworth website as I live in Roehampton.

Why did you choose to volunteer with Power2Connect?
Volunteer: I chose to volunteer with Power2Connect because I was studying computer science for my masters and I wanted to get some hands-on experience. Coming here I was being taught how to do some hardware and software stuff.

Sometimes the laptops come without a RAM (Random access memory), and we will get it from another laptop and we will put it into the one that we want to give out. Sometimes we change the drives also. Once the process with the laptops is complete, we add a sticker, and the laptop is ready to be distributed. I’ve completed about 30 laptops in one day whilst volunteering at Power2Connect. Joshua was happy to be volunteering at Power 2 Connect and contributing to the cause of sustainability in the borough. Not only is he able to contribute he is able to gain further experience as a graduate in the area of IT and have a routine for his week when he is not working part time. Joshua has invited friends to also get involved with volunteering at Power 2 Connect.

Inspired by Joshua’s journey?
Join Power2Connect and help them to repair, refurbish, and redistribute laptops to those who need them most. Whether you’re an IT enthusiast, a student looking for hands-on experience, or simply want to make a difference, your time and skills can change lives.

Get involved today
Volunteer, donate equipment, or spread the word. Together, we can bridge the digital divide and build a more sustainable future.
Visit Power to Connect’s website here.

Corporate Volunteering: Milk & Honey PR Joins Forces with WCA

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At Wandsworth Care Alliance (WCA), we’re always looking for ways to connect local charities with organisations who are keen to give back to their community. That’s why we were delighted to sit down with Milk & Honey PR, a global communications agency which sees its responsibility to people, purpose and planet as core business drivers.

We spoke with Havana Frakes, Client Assistant and UK Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) lead, and Petrina Marks, Senior Executive Assistant to the CEO about how their company is already giving back and what they’re looking to do next.

Milk & Honey PR is an award-winning, B Corp-certified communications agency that helps ambitious, purpose-driven organisations tell their stories and build meaningful connections. With offices in London, Munich, New York, and Singapore, the agency specialises in strategic PR, nurturing purpose driven brand reputations and creative storytelling all with a strong focus on people, purposeful impact, and positive change.

Current Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities:
Milk & Honey PR has always had community spirit built into its values. The team already:

  • Partners with Plan International to support young women and girls.
  • Supports charities through their Purpose Academy, a six-month pro bono training programme that equips charities and not for profit organisations with skills in PR, storytelling, and digital communications.
  • Offers each employee two volunteer days per year to dedicate to charitable causes.

“CSR is part of how we live as a business. For us, it’s about impact, seeing the real difference we can make for people in our community.” – Petrina Marks, Senior Executive Assistant at Milk & Honey PR.

Looking local: opportunities in Wandsworth

While Milk & Honey PR has previously supported local and global charities, the agency is now keen to expand its work with a renewed focus on initiatives in Wandsworth.

They’re particularly interested in opportunities where they can:

  1. Make a tangible impact that’s visible in the community.
  2. Support causes within easy reach of their Clapham office.
  3. Contribute their professional communications skills as well as their time.
  4. Work with charities where their efforts can be used effectively, without additional costs for the charity.

From helping at food banks, to packing donations, to running creative fundraising events, the team is open to a wide range of opportunities.

Havana Frakes added, “For us, CSR is a moral obligation to give back to the communities we live and work in and team bonding is an added bonus.”

Sharing skills and stories

One of the most exciting offers from Milk & Honey PR is their willingness to share expertise. Their team is open to helping charities raise their own profile by sharing stories through their communication channels.

As Petrina said, “We’re an award-winning global PR agency, so if a local charity needs help telling their story, that’s something we’d be delighted to support.”

A First for WCA

We’re thrilled that Milk & Honey PR is the first corporate organisation featured in our Doing Good in Wandsworth initiative. By showcasing their journey, we hope to inspire other businesses across the borough to follow suit and build meaningful partnerships with local charities.

This is just the beginning. With a new Clapham office opening soon, Milk & Honey PR is ready to get even more involved in the local community.

Get involved

If you’re a Wandsworth based charity looking for corporate support, whether that’s skilled volunteering, fundraising, or practical help, Milk & Honey PR would love to hear from you.

Contact Havana at havana@milkandhoneypr.com

And if your organisation is interested in connecting with local businesses for volunteering or support, don’t forget to register your opportunities on WCA’s volunteering platform and sign up to our quarterly doing good in Wandsworth newsletter here. Please email communications@wandcareall.org.uk to be featured in our next edition. If you’re a corporation who is supporting our local charities, please do reach out so we can share all the incredible work you are doing towards the local community.

Together, we can build stronger links between businesses and charities making Wandsworth a borough where everyone benefits and is supported.

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