Verse of the Week: Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Hope in Tottenham Family came together at Tottenham Hotspurs’ Lilywhite House on Sunday morning to regroup for the first meeting in November.

With opening words from Hope in Tottenham Elder, Eric and a prayer from his wife Cynthia; the family gathered together to sing ‘Bless the Lord O My Soul’ before introductions were made.

During the breakout groups, the theme of focus was ‘family’; what makes one, how we treat one another in a family and what makes a family stronger.

Many strong suggestions were made, each giving HiT food for thought as to how we will treat our family going forward as we aim to build on our values of love, respect, honesty and transparency with your suggested values: Empathy and unity. 

Additionally, suggestions were made about increased contact and support between the fortnightly meetings, with emails being the suggested method of contact. 

Yet it was the Family of Tanesha Melbourne-Blake who took centre stage with the teenagers cousin and Boyfriend announcing the launch of a foundation in her name. 

Named the Tanesha Melbourne-Blake foundation, after the Bruce Grove Youth Centre Mentor who was tragically murdered in Northumberland Park earlier this year; its founders, Lumear Small and Monique Westcarr have vowed to keep Tanesha’s name, work and legacy alive through the foundation by bringing mentors into primary schools for early intervention care. 

Targeted at vulnerable students between eight and eleven years old; parents, guardians and safeguard trained professionals can refer children, in confidence to the Tanesha Melbourne-Blake foundation for menteeship. 

These mentors will be trained by the foundation to assist children through periods of difficulty; whether those problems be domestic or social, peer or superior – the mentors will give students the tools they need to handle the difficulties of life in Tottenham can bring. 

This will all be done in the hope of preventing students from becoming victims or perpetrators of crime in our local area. 

If you are interested in the foundation and would like more information or would like to volunteer, you can contact Lumear and Monique via email: tmbfoundation@gmail.com  

For support, prayer or information, contact Rev. John Wood on 0777 1867 359 or via email, director@hopeintotenham.com

This article is a republished edition from our 2018 event