Kenneth Greenway, Cemetery Park Manager at The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, has been working with ELBA for many years, working together to connect local businesses and their employee volunteers with the wonderful Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. We caught up with Kenneth to hear about what the organisation does, the challenges it faces and the vital role of volunteers. 

What does your charity do?
The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park (FoTHCP) is an award-winning local charity working to protect, preserve and care for the Cemetery Park. Our passionate staff and volunteers share their energy, expert knowledge and vision to shape the future of the park for everyone’s benefit.

What are the challenges your service users face, and how does your organisation help users overcome them?
We’re a public park and heritage asset. The Cemetery Park provide connections to nature and local history, which improve people’s physical and mental well-being. Managing the site for wildlife and people requires a great deal of volunteer practical support to help us carry out footpath improvements, monument and habitat care. Many volunteers come via the corporate community, and ELBA send us 100s of volunteers throughout the year to support our work managing the Cemetery Park.

Do you have an inspirational story/moment about your work that you would like to share?
Nothing specific as I work in an inspirational place on a daily basis. Discovering new plant or animal species in the Cemetery Park or new, previously unknown stories of people buried on site is always a red-letter day for us. We also get to do a bit of celebrity spotting as there are quite a few people who live in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets who are in the public eye and like to walk about the Cemetery Park.

What kind of support are you in need of right now and how might volunteering fit into that?
As with most charities, we’re putting a lot of effort into recovering our lost revenue streams impacted by the pandemic, so donating and becoming a member are great ways to show your support for our work. In addition to this, we need volunteers who like outdoor practical work or enjoy learning about local history and would like to record our gravestones. Beyond this, if you have more time to give, becoming a trustee to help the charity function is much needed too.

Every year, ELBA and BIG Alliance come together to have our very own volunteering day supporting one of our community partners. This year, 45 volunteers gave a helping hand to Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. Read about the day and how ELBA got stuck in, here.