Celebrating Pride Month

Spreading Awareness and Inclusivity in Surrey

This Pride Month, we’ve been on a mission to celebrate diversity and foster understanding across Surrey. Our initiatives have focused on engaging young people and creating spaces for open conversations about the LGBTQ+ community.

One of our exciting projects is a collaboration with Brooklands Museum. Working alongside our youth group, we’re creating an interactive exhibit that showcases the stories of LGBTQ+ individuals connected to the museum’s history. This project not only preserves important narratives but also empowers young people to actively shape conversations about inclusion.

LGBTQ+ youth group leader

We’ve also been busy visiting schools and colleges throughout Surrey

We’ve also been busy visiting schools and colleges throughout Surrey including a Pride Picnic at Woking High, Pride afternoon at Godalming College, well-being day at Howard of Effingham School and meetings with Jubilee High, and Chertsey High for upcoming September projects. These visits help encouraging students to support their LGBTQ+ peers and learn more about Pride as they can ask questions, share their understanding, and celebrate diversity together.

Our activities have also extended beyond schools and into the community. We’ve been visiting Surrey youth groups including The Hive in Guildford to run Pride activities and helping young people to access LGBTQ+ support.

 

These initiatives represent more than just celebrations

As Pride Month comes to a close, we’re inspired by the enthusiasm we’ve encountered. Our commitment to this important work does not just occur within June but also continues year-round, ensuring that we continue to strive for an inclusive community for all young people in Surrey.

You can reach us at eikonLGBT@eikon.org.uk if you would like to know more about our groups, or would like to support as an individual or organisation.

 

 

Two girls with pride flag around them

Quote from Project Worker Katy Berry:

 

“ The energy and openness we’ve seen from young people across Surrey this Pride Month has been amazing. We’re not just celebrating – we’re starting conversations for lasting change to occur in our community.  After all, the first pride was a protest!  It’s been incredibly rewarding work.”

Growing community support for Eikon’s Tea Garden

The Eikon Gardens are a place for young people to learn new skills, make friends, relax in nature, and talk to a trusted adult in a safe space.

The Hopes and Dreams Garden and the recently renovated Tea Garden are only possible with the help of so many different kinds of community support. From donating plants to refreshing furniture with a lick of paint, or weeding and maintaining the gardens. Every job, however big or small, helps bring together this wonderful space for everyone to enjoy. Whether that’s at our Gardening Clubs, a session with an Eikon practitioner in the gardens, or a moment of rest and reflection with a cup of tea outside. And just as no job by itself maintains the gardens, no one person is ever alone.

Through weekly Gardening Clubs, students help maintain the gardens and last year they fundraised to give the green spaces a makeover. Recently we also received a wide range of generous support from our community to help improve the new Tea Garden. As a result of this community support, the Gardening Clubs have been able to lay fresh gravel, plant new flowers, and create a Tea Garden space for young people, Eikon staff and volunteers, and visiting parents and carers to enjoy.

yellow doodle flower

Donated plants from J.Parker’s

J.Parker’s, a well-known plant nursery in Manchester contacted us to kindly donate plants for our Gardening Clubs. Their generous contribution of over 80 bulbs and plants and a great quantity of seeds will help to brighten up our gardens – a thriving space for wildlife and beautiful place for reflection.

It means so much for children and young people to be able to plant these bulbs, watch them grow and thrive.

“The garden is like my time at Eikon. We don’t see the changes straight away, but one day we will notice three flowers.” – young person

Pictured is an Osteospermum flowering plant from J.Parkers, adding a splash of colour to the Tea Garden.

Osteospermum potted flowers

 

Volunteers got their hands in the soil

In June, Lucy from Bupa UK and Rose from a local marketing agency Space & Time Media, spent a day volunteering in the Tea Garden. Lucy and Rose helped with weeding, clearing and scrubbing, leaving our Tea Garden area looking spotless and ready for the gardening club to lay gravel and grow more plants.

Lucy and Rose said “Thank you so so much for organising the day. We had a great time… It was lovely to meet so many of the Eikon team and see so many young people using the services. It was fab!”

Joanne, Eikon Schools Team said “Lucy and Rose were lovely. They were happy to engage in any activity that was needed and were a ray of sunshine themselves.”

Thank you Lucy and Rose!

There are lots of different ways corporate teams can get involved and help young people in Surrey. You can find out more about corporate support here.

Two corporate volunteers in garden with Chris, CEO of Eikon
Raised beds in the Eikon Tea Garden
Corporate volunteers in the Tea Garden posing with cake

 

Fantastic furniture restored by Woking & District Men’s Shed

To complete the Tea Garden area, Woking & District Men’s Shed restored a set of old rusty, un-loved metal table and chairs. The furniture now has pride of place in the Tea Garden. Young people, staff and volunteers, and parents and carers can sit on the garden furniture and appreciate the new outdoor space for rest and reflection.

Thank you to Woking & District Men’s Shed for also donating two Swift Boxes – the young people at Gardening Clubs plan to use these in the main Hopes and Dreams Garden to support the local wildlife.

Green garden furniture
Eikon and Woking & District Men's Shed with garden furniture
Restored garden furniture in Eikon Tea Garden
Swift Boxes on a potting bench

Generous support from Byfleet United Charity

We want to say a huge thank you the Byfleet United Charity who generously funded this Tea Garden restoration project as part of their donation after visiting our Garden Open Day in 2022.

“Gardening club is for all school years and is relaxing and somewhere to have a rest with nature.” – young person

We know that being outside with nature can have a significant positive impact on our wellbeing. Thanks to community support like this, our garden spaces at Eikon can continue to provide a safe space for young people to connect with nature, relax and have fun.

“The garden project is wonderful. It brings such joy. Thank you” – Guest at Garden Open Day 2023

Yellow doodle of leaf

How you can get involved…

All of us at Eikon and the young gardeners are so grateful for this community support! It has helped transform a space for everyone to enjoy and we couldn’t be happier with how it looks.

Do you want to help your community and spend time in nature?

We’re looking for adult volunteers to help us at weekly Gardening Clubs, or to provide ad-hoc help to maintain the garden. If you’re interested, please contact schools@eikon.org.uk for more information.

More volunteering opportunities
Animated thank you words

Eikon Trustees

Eikon is a Surrey based charity that has been working in the local community for almost two decades, providing support to the county’s children, young people and their families.

Eikon is seeking two Trustees, one with general legal and the other health services background, who need not necessarily live in Surrey

To find out more, please see the role description Role Description – Trustees

To apply, please send a formal letter or email referring to the skills and experience required, together with a CV and details of two references.

Applicants will be interviewed by a panel consisting of the Chair, Chief Executive Officer and possibly one other Trustee, on a mutually convenient date.

After the interview, two references will be followed up, as appropriate, and a DBS check undertaken.

Contact information:

Nigel Goddard (Chair of Trustees) nigel.goddard@eikon.org.uk or 07841122721

Chris Hickford (Chief Executive Officer) on Chris.Hickford@eikon.org.uk or 01932 347434

The Eikon Charity, Selsdon Road, New Haw, Surrey KT15 3HP

Doodle twizzle
Chris Hickford