10 years of impact

Social impact worth millions

Volunteering has always been at the core of what Dot Dot Dot does – our mission is to provide housing that makes it easier for people to do more good, and we do that by housing people who want to give time to good causes as property guardians.  So as we celebrate 10 years since we launched, we have counted up how much volunteering we have enabled during our first decade – and it’s a lot.

How the Dot Dot Dot team volunteer for good causes

At Dot Dot Dot, we wouldn’t be able to support the volunteering efforts of our guardians without being socially-minded individuals ourselves, willing to dedicate time and energy to good causes. So, we caught up with members of our team to share some of the ways in which they have volunteered to support a wide range of communities in the UK and abroad, from a Chinese community centre in Soho to refugees in Calais.

Delivering food parcels in his community: Daneel Phillips and Made in Hackney

We spoke to Poplar guardian Daneel back in April this year about his volunteering with Made in Hackney, a community cookery school that, when the pandemic hit, turned its hand to supporting vulnerable members of the local community. We recently caught up with Khin, Volunteer Manager at Made in Hackney, to see how they’ve adapted over the past 18 months and how volunteers like Daneel contribute to the direct impact they are making in their community.

Data proves that everybody really does need good neighbours

“At Dot Dot Dot, we see the value of neighbourliness, volunteering and community involvement every day, and we get a lot of satisfaction from cooperating with the venues and projects which create the volunteering opportunities our guardians get involved with.” – Dot Dot Dot founder, Katharine Hibbert

How volunteering helps everyone – not just the beneficiaries

We support volunteering because of its positive impacts on good causes and on the volunteers themselves, but by doing so we hope we are also making a small contribution to building a more positive, happier and richer society as a whole.

Helping his community to borrow instead of buy: Allan Smith and SHARE Oxford

Oxford guardian, Allan, is helping members of his community to prevent waste with SHARE. The organisation is on a mission to discourage a culture of waste by enabling people to borrow items instead of buy. Founder of SHARE, Maurice, explains how volunteers like Allan have enabled the organisation to grow, and build a strong community of like-minded people. Volunteers help to educate others on the importance of reducing the need for unnecessary production and consumption.

Finding a sense of community in north west London: Farah and The Granville

Queen’s Park guardian, Farah, found a renewed sense of community in her hometown of north west London when she started volunteering for The Granville last year. The centre delivers food parcels to the local community and provides a multi-purpose space for people to come together.

Guardianship and social impact in east London with Custom House Civic Community Hub

Dot Dot Dot guardians in east London have been supporting the community-building efforts created by Civic, an organisation working to re-imagine community high streets for the benefit of local residents. We explore the inventive ways our guardians have set out to give a new lease of life to a set of empty retail spaces by  developing them into a vibrant community-led centre.

Forming meaningful connections in Oxford: Mori and Oxford Community Action

Through their regular volunteering, Oxford guardian, Mori, is helping to redistribute food and spread the word about the work of Oxford Community Action in their local community and further afield. We caught up with them to find out how the organisation supports Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities through grassroots activities and community engagement.

10 years of Dot Dot Dot

Ten years ago, in June 2011,  our founder, Katharine Hibbert, registered Dot Dot Dot with Companies House and her idea for property guardianship with purpose came to fruition. Since then, we’ve been able to house over 1,500 people all over England, in properties that would otherwise sit empty.