We Make Camden Together: Our key message at Camden's Full Council Debate on the VCS

Titled “We Make Camden Together: Camden’s Voluntary and Community Sector’s Role in Building Safer, Stronger Communities through Collaboration and Shared Purpose in Challenging Times”, the debate recognised the vital role the VCS plays in our communities, and the pressures it is facing.

Eight of Camden’s voluntary and community organisations were invited to speak, each with just three minutes to capture the breadth of impact, challenge and opportunity across a sector that supports thousands of residents every day.

Speakers acknowledged and welcomed the Council’s strong partnership with the VCS, including Camden Council’s £4 million per year investment programme for 2024–2031. However, in a borough marked by deep inequalities, where two in five children live in relative poverty, there was a clear and united call for more to be done to support frontline organisations and to ensure Camden’s wealth is more fairly redistributed.

Representing Young Camden Foundation, Voluntary Action Camden, and Volunteer Centre Camden, our Head of Partnerships and Grants Sophie Kruger shared six key takeaways from a VCS infrastructure perspective.

1. Camden’s voluntary and community sector is essential, and under severe strain.

Thousands of charities, CICs and grassroots groups hold together the social fabric of our borough, tackling inequality across arts, culture, community safety, social welfare and youth services. Yet rising demand and shrinking resources are pushing many organisations to breaking point.

2. Survival mode has replaced sustainability.

Years of responding to crisis have crowded out long-term strategic planning, workforce development and digital investment. The result is burnout, fragility and reduced capacity across the sector.

3. Youth services show the scale of the crisis.

Since 2010, 73% of national youth funding has been cut (National Youth Agency). Whilst the VCS have stepped in to deliver vital services, here in Camden, one in five YCF members currently have no financial reserves, while 80% report rising demand. Without intervention, services that young people rely on will disappear.

4. Giving and volunteering are declining, despite their enormous value.

According to the Charity Aid Foundation's 2025 Corporate Giving Report, three-quarters of UK businesses give no support to charities at all. Formal volunteering is also falling, despite the fact that volunteering in Camden is estimated to be worth £1.3 billion. The sector cannot survive on goodwill alone.

5. The opportunity is clear: invest, reconnect and renew a culture of giving.

With political leadership, over 38,000 businesses, and a mobilised and innovative community sector, Camden already has what it needs. What’s required now is stronger accountability, deeper collaboration and a genuinely human-centred approach.

6. Camden can lead, but only if we act now.

A stronger, fairer future is within reach. The question is whether we connect the forces already here and move with urgency.

Watch the full debate here, with remarks from VCS speakers including:

• Kate Dean, Rosslyn Hill Chapel
• Sophie Kruger, Young Camden Foundation, on behalf of Camden's VCS infrastructure orgs
• Suraya Miah, Camden Giving
• Daniel Pitt, Old Diorama Arts Centre, on behalf of Camden Community Centres' Consortium (C4)
• Yusuf Deerow, Somali Youth Development Resource Centre
• Ellie Rudd, Fitzrovia Youth in Action
• Paul Webley, Age UK Camden
• Rashid Iqbal, The Winch

At Young Camden Foundation, our members offer safe, welcoming spaces where children and young people build confidence, social connection and a sense of belonging. Some of my most joyful days are spent being chased around playgrounds with water pistols, hearing laughter over competitive board games, watching our Young Ambassadors grow into leaders, and seeing young people proudly don chef’s hats to showcase their culinary creations through Camden’s Holiday Activities and Food programme.

Our vision at YCF is simple: that every child and young person in Camden has equal access to the borough’s incredible opportunities, resources and support.

Connect with Young Camden Foundation today to find out how you can play a part.

Written by Sophie Kruger, Head of Partnerships & Grants at Young Camden Foundation, January 2026