What an incredible day of celebration! ASHA Neighbourhood Project, a grassroots charity, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Today (13 June 2025) marked the first event honouring the remarkable impact it has had over the past four decades in serving the community.
Since its inception, ASHA has been instrumental in providing frontline services and advocating for the sustainability, equity, and empowerment of women and their families, as well as new migrants to the county. It has consistently served as a beacon of hope, providing women with opportunities to have a voice and influence in local decision-making, which has been immensely beneficial to their lives.
At Asha, we take pride in involving service users and beneficiaries as a core part of our service delivery model. Most of ASHA’s staff members come from the local community and have spent their lives in or around South Leeds; some were even former service users of ASHA during their youth. Both our current chair and CEO grew up in the local area and have served on the management committee for several years.
The day was wonderful, with over 100 people attending throughout the day, including service users, partners, and members of the wider community. Together, they celebrated and reflected on four decades of service delivery. The event brought together, the different generations of service users – both young and old- who shared cherished memories of using the services, participating in educational classes, workshops, and outings, and forming friendships along the way.
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A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended, as well as to our dedicated local councillors, Cllr Paul Wray (Labour, Hunslet & Riverside) and Cllr Ed Carlisle (Green, Hunslet & Riverside), who consistently go the extra mile for the community. They are a reliable source of support for ASHA and actively listen to our needs as an organisation, enabling us to continue delivering vital services to women and their families.
ASHA is at a pivotal crossroads as it seeks further funding and establishes long-term priorities to ensure the continued impact of vital work with communities and enhance resilience, ensuring that it can continue to serve and uplift the community for many years to come and leaving a lasting legacy for the next generation of women and families.
This post was written by Alia Nessa, CEO, ASHA
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