Last month, my friends at Shoreditch Works (a pair of amazing co-working spaces in the Silicon Roundabout area) ran a Kickstarter campaign to support their goal of repurposing an empty warehouse building in the area into a “Village Hall” – a place to run events, offer community time, mentor youngsters, help startups, etc.
They crushed it with the the campaign, raising well over their original target, and ended up with funds to do things like offering free desk space to local startups, and apprenticeships in community management.
We had a small celebration towards the end of the fundraiser, a few weeks back, and I said a few words. You can hear some of them in the video below. I said some other things too that were far more emotional and gooey than I may have intended on the night, but it was off-the-cuff.
Yesterday, the team heard that it’s unlikely that the building they had originally targeted will now be available, as the lease has gone elsewhere. The hunt begins for an alternative, suitable, location.
I know this is a huge blow to all of those involved, who worked hard both on the campaign, and on all of the logistics and preparations around the creation of the new space. Of course, it is also disappointing to many of us who backed the Kickstarter and hoped for the Village Hall to be opening in the next few months.
To the team, I say this – exactly what I said on the night of the finale – I believe in you. We believe in you. This is going to happen! Shoreditch does need exactly what you had in mind, and I know we as a community can still make it happen. A setback? yes, but just a setback, nothing more.
Let’s do this thing!
Tagged: community, england, Kickstarter, London, Old Street Roundabout, Shoreditch, Shoreditch Works, Silicon Roundabout, Village Hall
