MTVH leaders at the launch of the Molly Huggins Foundation at the Wallington SDA Food Hub in the London Borough of Sutton. L-R Geeta Nanda OBE (Former Chief Executive), Althea Efunshile CBE (Chairperson), Ian Johnson (Chief Finance Officer), Kush Rawal (Executive Director for Customer Service and Chair of the Molly Huggins Foundation), and Dominic Briant (Director of Community Impact and lead for the Molly Huggins Foundation).
Today we launch MTVH’s charity the Molly Huggins Foundation, named after MTVH’s founder, that will invest £75m in community impact projects over the next decade. The Foundation, working with local partners, will tackle food insecurity, debt issues, skills gaps, educational needs, health and wellbeing to break down barriers that hold communities back.
As the cost-of-living crisis risks becoming the ‘new normal’ in many communities if urgent action isn’t taken, the launch of the Molly Huggins Foundation is a timely intervention which will significantly bolster our community impact activities at a time when they are needed the most.
The Foundation will provide access to a wider range of donors and funding sources, enabling MTVH to achieve more positive outcomes for residents and communities. The foundation will house the work of MTVH’s existing community impact teams and its Migration Foundation as they become part of the Molly Huggins Foundation.
The launch of the Molly Huggins Foundation coincides with the launch of MTVH’s inaugural Community Impact Report, which outlines the incredible work of our community impact teams in 2023/24 and the positive difference they have made to the lives of residents.
The report reveals that in the year to March 2024 MTVH:
– Spent £50 on community investment for every MTVH household.
– Supported 3,675 residents with money advice resulting in a £3 million total financial gain to residents.
– Provided £729,000 to residents in rent adjustments, food, fuel and other essential items via its Tenant Welfare Fund.
– Made 618 rent adjustments saving residents £336,000 compared to 571 in 2022/23.
– Delivered £96,966 of social value through supply chain partnerships.
– Helped 219 Londoners secure work after attending Love London Working programme, with the majority sustaining employment for over 6 months.
The full report can be read here: https://lnkd.in/eyZgu8UD
MTVH targets its community investment based on detailed socio-economic research that shows not only areas of need, but also the type of project that will have greatest impact.
By targeting investment in this way MTVH works to break the cycle of poverty by providing people with the support to develop skills, improve mindset, find employment and live well.
Underpinning these projects is MTVH’s core role as a provider of safe, warm, and secure homes on which people can build their lives. In 2023/24, MTVH built 892 homes with partners across its areas of operation in London, the East Midlands and South and East of England and is targeting one thousand further homes in 2024/25.
