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We are delighted that Centrepieces has been awarded the prestigious King’s Award for Voluntary Service. The award is the highest given to volunteer groups across the UK.

In recognition of the award, Centrepieces will receive a certificate signed personally by King Charles III and a domed glass crystal. Two of Centrepieces’ volunteers will be invited to a royal garden party.

The Chair of Centrepieces Board of Trustees, Mike Ellsmore, said

‘This is a great honour for Centrepieces, and is an acknowledgement of the hard work our volunteers have put in for many years. They make a significant difference to the lives of our members.’

On Saturday 21 October, Centrepieces held an open day at their pop-up premises at Sidcup Manor House. Read more on our blog.

We are very excited and proud to announce that Centrepieces has been selected as one of the Mayor of Bexley’s charities of the year. The new Mayor for 2023/24 is Councillor Ahmet Dourmoush.  We were pleased to welcome the Mayor and the Mayoress, Mrs Elmaz Dourmoush, to our ‘Inner Me’ exhibition at the Erith Exchange in May. 

Following this visit, we were selected as one of the Mayor’s charities of the year. Our chair, Mike Ellsmore, was invited to speak in front of 400 people at the Civic Service at Christchurch, Bexleyheath. Mike spoke about the work of Centrepieces and the way we help to change people’s lives. You can read the text of his speech here.

One of our Trustees, Eileen Pallen, along with key volunteers Karen Larkin and Sue Turner, attended a special dinner for the Mayor on July 11th.

The appointment as the Mayor’s charity will raise much needed funds for us but just as important is the fact that it raises our profile within the borough. We look forward to working with the Mayor throughout his year in office.

We are delighted to have a new Pop Up venue in Sidcup Manor House, The Green, Sidcup DA15 6BS. We’ll be holding some of our workshops there and there is space for artists to work