Colette Allen is the CEO of Hackney Quest—a charity that, since 1988, has supported children and young people navigating life’s challenges in east London. Here, she explains the positive impact the charity has on its beneficiaries, and how ELBA’s BoardBuilders programme has strengthened their leadership and governance.

What does your charity do?

Hackney Quest has been supporting children, young people and families in Hackney for the past 38 years. During my 23 years as CEO, I’ve seen the organisation grow in response to the changing needs of our community. Today we deliver seven interconnected programmes, including youth work, mentoring, employability support, wellbeing and counselling, family & education support, hardship support, community meals and our weekly food bank.

Everything we do is built on long-term trusted relationships. We provide safe spaces, positive life experiences and great role models, helping young people build confidence, improve their wellbeing, develop skills and create brighter futures.

What are the challenges your service users face, and how does your organisation help users overcome them?

Many of the young people and families we support face multiple challenges, including poverty, poor mental health, school exclusion, unemployment, family pressures, discrimination and limited opportunities. These issues rarely exist in isolation, which is why our support is holistic and tailored to each individual.

We work alongside young people for as long as they need us, offering practical support as well as trusted relationships with adults who genuinely care about them. Whether that’s through counselling, mentoring, employability coaching, youth activities or hardship support, our aim is always to help young people recognise their strengths and realise their potential.

Our partnership with ELBA has been invaluable. Through ELBA’s BoardBuilders programme, over the past 10 years we’ve recruited some truly exceptional trustees who have strengthened Hackney Quest’s leadership and governance. Most recently, we welcomed an outstanding Treasurer through the programme, whose expertise has already made a significant difference. Our Co-Chair of Trustees also first connected with Hackney Quest through an ELBA BoardMatch event and has become an inspiring leader for the organisation. We are incredibly grateful to ELBA for the support they’ve provided over, helping us build a strong and committed board that enables us to have an even greater impact for the communities we serve. We’ve also massively benefitted from ELBA’s annual Toy Appeal, receiving hundreds of Christmas gifts for our young people who are always so happy receive them!

Do you have an inspirational story/moment about your work that you would like to share?

One young woman came to Hackney Quest a few months ago looking for support with her mental health. She was incredibly shy, lacked confidence and was finding life overwhelming. She began accessing our wellbeing service and gradually became involved in other parts of the organisation. Today she’s one of our youth leaders.

Last week she took part in our week-long Hospitality Skills Programme with Eat Club, learning to cook alongside other young women while building her confidence and employability skills. Then, on Saturday, she volunteered alongside me at the Coldfire Festival, a community mental health and wellbeing event that Hackney Quest has supported for the past seven years.

She spent the whole day helping out, chatting confidently with people and throwing herself into every opportunity. At the end of the day she stayed to enjoy the live performances and quietly said to me,

— Hackney Quest beneficiary

Moments like that remind me why Hackney Quest exists. Young people don’t just need services; they need safe places where they feel they belong, trusted adults who believe in them and opportunities to discover what they’re capable of. Watching someone grow from needing support to becoming someone who now supports others is incredibly special.

What kind of support are you in need of right now and how might volunteering fit into that?

As our work continues to grow, we’re always looking for people and businesses who want to invest in the next generation. Volunteers can make a huge difference by sharing their skills, careers and life experiences through mentoring, employability workshops and career talks.

We also welcome teams who can support our weekly community meal at a local church – we can accommodate teams of up to 10 on Mondays from 10-2pm involving prepping food, cooking, serving and clearing up a free meal for 65 community members.  We’re also looking for businesses who can offer work experience placements, World of Work days or fundraising support.

For many of our young people, meeting professionals who take the time to encourage them can be life-changing. Volunteers help broaden horizons, build confidence and open doors that might otherwise feel out of reach. Alongside this, we’re always keen to build new partnerships with businesses that share our belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive, whatever their starting point.