A space where students, designers and communities come together; where fashion and creativity inspire and facilitate positive social change.
The Portal Centre for Social Impact builds on ten years of Social Responsibility at LCF, reflecting the drive and ambition to cultivate inclusive, collaborative, innovative spaces and programmes through which the Centre’s communities explore and fulfil their creative potential.
The Centre’s vision - a world where fashion and creativity can inspire and facilitate positive social change – is expressed through community projects, cultural collaborations and the ground-breaking Making for Change programme, that delivers vocational training and a social enterprise.
Located at Poplar Works and now LCF East Bank, the Portal Centre will continue to engage with creative practitioners, students and academics whilst extending local community engagement to Stratford and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, continuing to support and nurture current and future creatives.
Making for Change is the Portal Centre’s award-winning vocational fashion and textiles training and production programme.
Community is at the heart of everything we do. We bring people together to learn from each other, building confidence and community cohesion.
Our partnerships with arts and cultural organisations across the four Olympic boroughs are equitable, meaningful and sustainable.
We create space for students engage with social and community-based agendas, connecting them with real-world issues and to innovate their practice.
The team offer a broad range of skills and expertise enabling a focus on the management and delivery of activities and projects as well as ensuring the evaluation and impact is evidenced. Led by the Director of Social Responsibility, the Heads, their wider teams and the Projects Coordinator work together to deliver the vision, aims and objectives of the Centre. The Centre Director and Heads represent at both College and University level strategic meetings: Knowledge Exchange, Placemaking, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Cultural Programming and East Bank.
Claire Swift: Director of Social Responsibility and the Portal Centre for Social ImpactAnna Ellis: Head of Business DevelopmentAnna Millhouse: Head of Cultural PartnershipsCamilla Butler: Head of Social ImpactJess Tierney: Head of Community DevelopmentJo Reynolds: Projects CoordinatorLauren McKirdy: Special Projects Manager
Caron Morris: Lecturer in Fashion ProductionTracyann Little: Lecturer in Quality Control
Alex Currie: Innovative Production SpecialistRohan Tait: Production Cutting AssistantSudhir Kohila: Senior Production MachinistNosira Begum: Junior Production machinist
Speaking for Ourselves
The Portal Centre for Social Impact team speak about their experiences.
The Ministry of Justice, The Portal Trust, The Worshipful Company ofMercers, The Worshipful Company of Girdlers, The Sheriffs’ and Recorder’sFund, The Worshipful Company of Broderers, The Worshipful Company ofMerchant Taylors, The Worshipful Company of Drapers, The Worshipful Company of Weavers.
Aberfeldy Community CentreAberfeldy Big Local (now Feldy)Art Against Knives CharityAnchor TrustBethany WilliamsBow ArtsBromley By Bow CentreEast London NHS Foundation TrustEmmaus GreenwichFine Cell WorkHistoric EnglandHMP SendMending for GoodOffice of Greater London High SheriffMending for GoodRosetta ArtsRoyal Pahang Weave FoundationSan PatrignanoSpotlightStitches in TimeSirlute / Roots BarbersWorking ChanceZegna Foundation
HMP DownviewNewham College of Further EducationPoplar HARCAThe Trampery