A philanthropist dubbed “the fairy godmother” is to be made an OBE for her initiative that builds and sells property, entirely in the name of charity.
Charlotte Grobien, from Putney, is a retired businesswoman who borrows money from the bank to build houses which she sells to make a profit.
Mrs Grobien on the site of one of her building projects
However, she does not keep any of the money and her company, Give it Away Limited, donates all the profits to small charities supporting children and young people across Wandsworth and Surrey.
So far Give it Away has raised £1,115,000 and paid for everything from new wheelchairs for disabled children to training for young apprentices from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Mrs Grobien said: “I have cried over it incessantly. It is a real honour. I feel very humble about the whole thing – I know it’s the parents and youngsters I see that are really going through it.
“I started this in 2007 with the Putney build and then went to apartments in Roehampton Lane and then in 2011 to Woking. I made £1m but my husband never saw that which was a shame. I told the press I would make £1m and he died just before I made it.
“I got the OBE letter in November and I just sobbed over it. I can’t speak the words OBE without crying. It’s about all the people I’m helping – they are not having a great time. I’m just doing it to make their lives a bit better.”
The charity Small Steps which supports babies and young children with cerebral palsy nominated Mrs Grobien for the OBE.
For more information about Mrs Grobien’s work visit: give-it-away.co.uk/
A retired police inspector who played an integral part in the rise of Neighbourhood Watch is to be made an OBE.
Thamesfield councillor James Maddan, 68, was hailed by Lord Ian Blair, former Met Commissioner, as the driving force behind the re-emergence of Neighbourhood Watch as a major crime fighting tool.
The former Wandsworth mayor is chairman of the charity and said he had no idea they had nominated him for a New Year Honour. Coun Maddan, a grandfather-of-one, is to be made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to the community.
He said he felt honoured and added: “I’m very pleased and very proud. It was totally a surprise. I found out a couple of weeks ago – you get a letter from the Cabinet Office and it came completely out of the blue. It was lovely – just before Christmas.
“I have been involved in Neighbourhood Watch since 1992 – when I was a neighbourhood police inspector in Putney and Roehampton. I was persuaded it was a good crime fighting tool. It was just something I was influenced by.
"I thought this is the sort of thing we should be doing, developing the community and bringing the community together. It makes areas a better place to live.
“The evidence suggests if you set up a Neighbourhood Watch in your area it is guaranteed to reduce crime by about 25 per cent.
Councillor Maddan is a former Wandsworth mayor
“But in this day and age it is not so much about crime. In 1982 it was set up very much to tackle residential burglaries, then it changed its emphasis slightly and it also does community cohesion.
“At this time of year with so much shopping being done online it is a good time to get to know your neighbours. Talking to your neighbours is very important.”
He said over the years he had heard a number of cases where people noticed milk accumulating on their vulnerable neighbour’s doorsteps and other signs which indicated they were not well. When neighbours got no response they called the emergency services - a potentially life-saving act.
Coun Maddan, a police officer for 31 years, first got involved in Neighbourhood Watch in 1992 and after he retired from the Met Police, in 1999, he took on a number of voluntary roles locally. He went on to become the chairman of the London-wide association and then the charity’s chairman in 2010.
Lord Blair of Boughton, a patron for the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network, has known Coun Maddan since 1979 when they served together at Notting Hill Police Station.
He said: “It is richly deserved. Jim has been the driving force behind the re-emergence of Neighbourhood Watch as a major, citizen led contributor to crime reduction.”
Kenny Brown the Governor at HMP Wandsworth is also to be made an OBE for his work for the prison service.
HMP Wandsworth
More to follow.
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