These payments range from £100-£200 grants to help groups establish an event or project to one-off small payments to individuals in financial difficulty.

Each summer we hold an informal gathering to encourage local groups and charities to come together, celebrate the summer and network with others working in the area. We try to hold the event at a different venue each year and our 2014 host was the Lewisham, Greenwich and Southwark branch of the Samaritans in New Cross.

The tea party, held on Friday 27th June, was a great success and a wonderful opportunity for people to visit the Samaritans and learn more about their work in the local community.

This was my last time hosting the tea party as I am standing down from Parliament at the general election next year, but my successor as Labour Party candidate for Lewisham Deptford, former Brockley councillor Vicky Foxcroft, is keen to take over and keep the event going if she is elected.

I would like to thank everyone for their support over the years and I very much hope that Deptford First will continue to provide assistance to local people in need. 

As part of its Helping Britain Prosper Plan, the Lloyds Bank Community Fund is appealing for nominations.

Around 1400 good causes in 350 communities across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands are set to benefit from the Community Fund this year, Grants of up to £3000 are available to support projects and services which make a positive difference to local communities.

Nominations can be made online at www.lloydsbank.com/communityfund. Once nominated, each group will be invited to directly apply to the Community Fund online.

Nominations close on 30th April 2014.

Every year the Big Lottery Fund awards grants to community groups, organisations and charities.

If you are interested in applying, you can find more information about the types of funding which might be available to you on the Big Lottery Fund website.  

With a year to go until we mark the centenary of the First World War, the Heritage Lottery Fund is making grants available to community projects encouraging people to learn more about the conflict.   

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is making at least £1 million per year (until 2019) available as part of the First World War: then and now programme for small, community grants.  It will provide grants of £3,000-£10,000, enabling groups right across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.

As you may have seen in the media, the Home Office is reviewing the use of stop and search by the police.  As part of this review they are conducting a public consultation.

Community trust and confidence in the police is vital, particularly amongst young people who often report having experienced negative encounters with the police. 

Lewisham Community Police Consultative Group and Lewisham Stop and Search Scrutiny Group are therefore supporting this review and encouraging people to make their views known.

If you would like to participate in the consultation, you can do so by visiting www.gov.uk/government/consultations/stop-and-search.  The closing date is September 24th.  

Lewisham Stop and Search Scrutiny Group is always looking for community members to get involved.  Visit their website or call 020 8314 8975 for further details.

Today I joined Ed Miliband (Leader of the Opposition), Heidi Alexander (MP for Lewisham East) and Tessa Jowell (MP for Dulwich and West Norwood) in meeting representatives of the Young Citizens' City Safe Haven 10,000 Hands campaign from Prendergast Ladywell Fields College in Brockley.

The campaign is the brainchild of Lewisham teenager Camilla Yahaya and its aim is to tackle youth crime and to make our streets a safer place for young people.  Camilla, a pupil at Prendergast, set up the Young Citizens group after the murder of Lee teenager Jimmy Mizen.

Since its launch in March 2013, schools, politicians and local organisations such as the Jimmy Mizen Foundation and the Stephen Lawrence Trust have come together to support the campaign. 

This event, the third in a series of four planned by the organisers, involved us and adding our purple hand prints to City Safe banners, alongside those of pupils from all over Lewisham.  The banner will be presented to City Hall later this year.

This is an excellent campaign which shows real initiative on the part of our young people and I was very pleased to be a part of it.

The People's Health Trust is an independent charity which funds local groups, organisations and charities.  It distributes funds raised by HealthWisdom through the Health Lottery.

The Trust has recently opened Active Communities, a funding programme which may be of interest to groups and charities in Lewisham Deptford.  It is offering grants of £5,000-£50,000.

Applications will be accepted between now and 12pm on Monday 15th July 2013.

It is very easy to apply - the form can be found on the People's Health Trust website, along with further information about the scheme.

Today I formally opened the new Baby Café Local at the NHS Waldron Health Centre on Amersham Vale in New Cross.

It is one of six weekly drop-ins being launched in Lewisham for pregnant women and new mothers.  They are open to mothers, partners and supporters and take place once a week.  The Waldron Centre sessions are on Thursdays from 10am-12pm.

On Saturday 14th July I joined Lewisham History Society and Hither Green Community Association in celebrating the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to local actress Dame Gladys Cooper.  I was joined by Deputy Mayor Councillor Alan Smith and Dame Gladys' daughter Sally (pictured left)  

Dame Gladys was born in a house on Ennersdale Road in Hither Green in 1888.  After appearing in numerous stage productions she went on to have a successful career in film, picking up three Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.