Ealing and Hounslow Community Voluntary Service is a registered local charity supporting voluntary and community sector (VCS) groups across Ealing for over 30 years and in Hounslow since 2012. We provide a wide range of practical support to help local organisations thrive, collaborate, and better serve their communities.

We started in 1976, when a group of local voluntary organisations began meeting to find better ways to work together and connect with the local authority and other public services. Councillor Margaret Lorde played a key role in this, and during her mayoral year Ealing’s Council of Voluntary Service was launched in July 1976. An inaugural meeting followed in November 1977, when a constitution was agreed with 47 member organisations.

In the early days, we were based in a disused shop on South Ealing Road, offered by the Marr Munning Trust. The space was run by volunteers, with a rota to keep things going. Funding was later secured from the London Borough of Ealing and other grants, and the first staff were employed through the government’s Job Creation Programme. We became a registered charity in August 1978.

We have grown and adapted over the years. In 1979, we launched the first edition of our newsletter, Evolve, helping local groups stay informed and connected. In 2000, we achieved Investors in People status, showing our commitment to supporting and developing our staff—something that continues today, with several of our current team having started as volunteers.

In 2002, we changed our name to Ealing Community and Voluntary Service to better reflect our role. We celebrated our 25th anniversary in 2001 with community events including a ‘Picnic in the Park’, highlighting the strong relationships we’ve built locally.

As things changed, we continued to improve how we support organisations. In 2004, we launched new websites with online services and a community calendar. We moved into the Ealing Community Resource Centre (Lido Centre) in 2007, and in 2020 relocated to West Ealing Library, where we also managed the library for a number of years.

We began supporting organisations in Hounslow in 2012, and in April 2021 we became Ealing and Hounslow Community Voluntary Service, reflecting our work across both boroughs. We are now based in Hanwell.

Today, we continue to support local organisations and residents, helping to build a strong, connected and resilient voluntary and community sector.

Find out more about the wide range of practical support services we offer VCS groups.

Annual Reports