Pretty Hearts CIC is a social enterprise founded in Woolwich in March 2024 with a mission to meaningfully engage young people through workshops, social activities and literature. We aim to create a safe space where young people can express themselves and improve their collective wellbeing.
Our beneficiaries are young people (boys and girls aged 12-25), based in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Youth services of this nature do not currently exist in the area. Our work helps to build self-esteem and improve mental health through hands-on workshops and community-building activities for young people.
Young people in Greenwich may feel disenfranchised, disengaged from the community, and excluded from other spaces. We have been running weekly hair braiding workshops in two locations in Woolwich since April 2024. During the summer, 45 people participate in the workshops every week. The workshops comprise hair braiding skills lessons with discussions about the cultural context and history of hair braiding. In 2017, 37% of people under 19 in the Royal Borough of Greenwich were of a black or mixed black heritage background Learning about hair braiding is of great cultural and historical significance to the communities living in Greenwich and our workshops provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for young people to explore their heritage, create local connections and build their sense of pride and confidence in their self-identity.
Mercy Darlington
Director/founder
We carry out cumunity based services with an aim of impacting and transforming the lives of the youths
HAIR MAKING CLASSES
We train these teenagers to understand and appreciate their cultural heritage and be armed with valuable skills that will help them face the world.
Holiday Trainings
We often organize free trainings and classes to teach and impact these young girls with the required skills for their future
YOUTH MAGAZINES
We produce life transforming magazines that teaches, trains and equip the youths to grow up in the right path and add value to theohir world
Young people from black and mixed african background. Young stay at home mothers in the community.
They need a social platform to demonstrate and learn new skills and ideas, have wellbeing sessions through mentorship classes.
They need outdoor events to fight isolation. Like going for walks and sight seeing,
They need activities that engages the mind in a creative way like recycling their unused clothing to making hand sewn crafts like tote bags and hair scrunchies as means of curbing waste and decluttering wardrobes which promote earth sustainability.
They need Fairs for young minds like yard sales but only to exchange wears. To curb the need for impulse buying.