A Brent charity that has welcomed parents and toddlers through its doors for three decades is marking its 30th birthday with a family disco and exhibition in Wembley.
Daniel’s Den, which now runs 12 parent and toddler groups across the borough, will celebrate the milestone at Ark Elvin Academy on Saturday, 14 November, with a disco party and exhibition running from 2pm to 5pm. Fancy dress is welcome, and tickets are available through the charity’s website.
The story began almost exactly 30 years ago. The charity opened on Monday, 11 November 1996, at Tokyngton Community Centre in Wembley, founded by Jo Gordon, then a first-time mum.
Gordon had moved a long way from her own family, and with her friends at work during the day, she wanted her young son to know people — and be known — in the community around them. The late Hendy Springer encouraged her to start a group, and it quickly became a fixture for local families.
Three decades on, the charity’s work stretches well beyond those first sessions. Alongside its 12 groups across Brent, it runs sessions for dads and male carers, community gardening at a local allotment, and pop-up groups for asylum seekers.
It also trains and supports toddler group leaders across the UK, and speaks up nationally for the value of parent and toddler groups — work Gordon leads through the 1277 Make them Count movement for church-based groups.
Reflecting on the anniversary, Gordon said she believed there should be a parent and toddler group within walking distance of every family in the country.
“I am thrilled that Daniel’s Den is celebrating its 30th birthday in November 2026,” she said. “I would never have believed it would still be going strong 30 years since it started.”
Thousands of families have passed through Daniel’s Den over the years — and the charity is now seeing children who once came along as toddlers return as parents with families of their own.
Community-run projects have become a lifeline for many London families in recent years, from food co-operatives helping households cut their shopping bills to parent and toddler groups offering new parents somewhere to go and someone to talk to.
It comes in a month when another north-west London school, Queens Park Community School, is preparing to unveil a memorial stone honouring the founder of the MOBO Awards.
The celebrations do not stop with the disco. The charity is also running a 30th Acts of Kindness campaign from October to December, and its next Dad’s Zone session takes place on Saturday, 7 November, from 10am to 11.30am at St Augustine’s.
Daniel’s Den is a registered charitable incorporated organisation (charity number 1147172). Anyone who has been part of it over the years is invited to share their memories and join in the anniversary celebrations, with details on the charity’s website.
