Earlier this month we announced that nominations were open for the final time for The Broadwalk Centre’s Community Fund, supported by the Times Series, which offers local charities, organisations and projects the chance of winning £500 to spend on anything they would like to help enhance their service.

Since summer 2013, The Broadwalk Centre in Edgware has given away £2,000 to local causes including Resources for Autism, Hadley Wood & Wingate Football Club's Olympic Legacy, the SAI School of Harrow and The Larches Community for young people and adults with learning disabilities.
After receiving multiple nominations for this final donation, two finalists have been selected and it is up to you, the readers, to decide who will receive the last ever £500 offering.

The Community Fund’s final nominees are:

Edgware based charity - Migdal Emunah
The Migdal Emunah charity offers support and services to historical and current victims of childhood abuse, with specific emphasis on assisting victims from within religious communities, where seeking justice through the court systems is frowned upon and victims and families often face being ostracised from their communities for seeking justice.

Their focus is on offering a caring and understanding support service to victims and helping them move forwards in rebuilding their lives to ensure that victims are not alone and not afraid to seek justice. They offer support and guidance, professional counselling, support groups for victims to meet together, guidance on the legal process and educational services for both victims and those working with victims from these situations. Furthermore, they organise public speaking to raise awareness and understanding on the subject in the local area.

Migdal Emunah was established in the last few years by Edgware resident, Yehudis Goldsobel, as a direct response to her personal experiences and going through the process of lengthy court actions to seek justice against her perpetrator and understanding first-hand the difficulties in both dealing personally with the individual experience of such a trauma and the challenges and daunting nature of the legal process. Migdal Emunah aims to offer a service that was not available to Yehudis and others, as well as striving for additional developments in this area of victim support.

The charity offers their services for free and is staffed by trained volunteers with extensive knowledge. As such, the survival of providing these services is dependent on charitable donations, which is why, if Migdal Emunah won the £500 donation from the Community Fund, it would be invaluable in providing funding for all of the above areas.

Alternatives Watford
Alternatives Watford is a pregnancy crisis and support centre working with teenage mums and women of all ages facing difficulties through pregnancy or pregnancy loss.

Established in 2002 (previously known as Connections) they are the only pregnancy crisis centre in Watford and the surrounding area. In 2011 they were awarded the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire award in recognition of a ‘great and valuable service to the community’.
The centre offers one to one emotional support and relevant practical support as required. They are about to launch their new counselling service specifically for people affected by post natal depression, which affects one in ten women and can make what should be a joyful and exciting time a traumatic and difficult one.
If Alternatives Watford were to receive the £500 Community Fund donation it would enable them to offer comprehensive and additional training in the relevant area of work. Furthermore, they would be able to pay for new marketing collateral for the local GP surgeries to highlight their new service and make more women aware of the support available.

Voting is easy! Simply email thebroadwalk@pmwcom.co.uk with the name of the project you want to win in the subject box, visit our website www.times-series.co.uk or vote via a poll on The Broadwalk Centre’s Facebook page.  The closing date to register your vote is Sunday 13th April 2014.