Friends of the Kensington Day Centre

The Friends of Kensington Day Centre (FKDC) is a registered charity founded in 1963 by the local philanthropist, Jane Lidderdale OBE, who recognised that loneliness was a major cause of ill health and unhappiness in the older members of the community.

Jane Lidderdale took the initiative to raise funds to build a day centre in Convent Gardens, W11, in a building where The Reed now stands. She invited local elderly and vulnerable people to spend the day there to enjoy activities and socialising. She arranged for them to be looked after by trained staff who provided them with a nutritious hot meal.

Octavia re-developed the site to create a modern, new community centre for the Kensington Day Centre, plus new sheltered homes for older people in the adjacent, now named, Jane Lidderdale House. Both were opened in 2017.

Octavia is extremely grateful for the continued support of the Friends of the KDC, for their continued work in raising funds to support activities and outings for members of the Kensington Day Centre through a mixture of philanthropic donations and charity events - including their annual lecture, which has welcomed many distinguished speakers, such as as the authors P.D. James and Sebastian Faulks, and former MP Alan Johnson.

The FKDC is a registered charity (Registered charity No 248001) and is run by a committee of local volunteers. For enquiries about their fundraising, or for donations, please contact: vivien.thompson@icloud.com, or telephone 020 7229 2445.

More information about the Kensington Day Centre and how to join as a member.

KDC news

Sunny day at the seaside for the Kensington Day Centre