ODAC partners with Regent’s Park Community Champions for new projects and long-term plans

With ODAC being situated on the Drummond Street border between Regent’s Place campus and the Regent’s Park Estate, a key element of our future plans is to be a better community centre for local residents, and to nurture the creative ecology. We’re excited to now be working with the Regent’s Park Community Champions to inform and begin our plans.

Community Champions is a community health and wellbeing project putting residents’ voices at the heart of the action working across three areas in the Borough of Camden: Kilburn, Kentish Town and Regent's Park.

The Champions are residents who lead projects to help them to understand what they can do for themselves, and ultimately, celebrate what is really great in the local community.

The Regent’s Park Champions project is coordinated by long-term ODAC partner charity, Fitzrovia Youth In Action, who are Camden’s leading youth social action charity.

The Champions meet weekly on Wednesday evenings, open to any resident of any age and have champions from age 12 to 60+ currently involved. They also run some activities for specific resident groups, such as youth led projects, projects focused on older residents or projects focused on particular residents within a particular part of the estate or building.

As part of ODAC’s new partnership with the Champions, we’re collaborating on producing events and festivals, and the Champions are exploring “What do Regents Park ward residents need from Old Diorama?”. They’ve been given free-reign to reimagine a room, commission a mural and feed into plans for our centre can be and do, funded by ODAC - and the weekly sessions are now going to be based at here too.

Get in touch with coordinator Ellie Rudd (at FYA) or Daniel Pitt (at ODAC) to find our more, to get involved in the programme, or if you want to run something in the area.

To kick start it all, we’ve got two public events coming up…

Firstly, join us for FREE pizza as part of the group’s weekly Wednesday evening meeting at ODAC, to meet each other, explore the area and find out more about a new local community safety project that’s starting soon.

And together we’ve partnered with Regent’s Park Job Hub, Westminster Kingsway College, Citizens Advice Camden, and more, to put on a free Wellbeing Lunch & Connect event on Tuesday 29th March. Join us in an informal setting to meet new people, and share advice on wellbeing through health, employment, finances and creativity. And there’s FREE lunch catered by Drummond Street’s Chutneys restaurant!

Contact Ellie Rudd to confirm attendance! Or just turn up and ask at the ODAC reception.