THE GOOD COMPANIONS

Helping vulnerable local people who cannot access the help they need, since 1941

Who we are and why we still help those in need

The Good Companions was formed by a group of Ilford businessmen, with the main aim to help those in need during troubled times and, in particular, local troops returning from the War with injuries and wounds. Those values and intentions remain today. Today’s Companions raise money to help many local people who struggle with securing the help they need from the bigger institutions and charities. Every penny we raise is distributed to the needy in the areas around Ilford, Loughton, Epping, and Harlow.

Today, more than ever, there are people who lose hope and struggle over basic everyday needs such as warm clothes, a bed or simply a break from the daily hardships they face every day. Our group of 30 Companions understand that unexpected events can turn lives upside down, and the burden of today’s essential expenses can become overwhelming. With unwavering commitment, we aim to alleviate these hardships and empower those in need to regain stability and hope. The people our charitable actions actually help are brought to our notice by their communities as they are often out of reach of bigger established charities who have lengthy procedures to distribute help.

Here are some of the deserving people we have helped and the kind of help they needed

The Good Companions always agree each case on its merits and act with help within days. Ideally we provide products, services and vouchers rather than cash.
We also keep in touch with them and make further donations when needed.

Curry Night at Vojan Restaurant - with a special appearance from Elvis`!

on Saturday, March 1st, 2025

You can help!

  • Join us from 730pm at Vojan Restaurant, Epping Rd, Ongar CM5 0DE

  • Tickets £40 per head

  • Donate a Raffle Prize

  • You can pre-bid or buy raffle tickets if you cannot be with us on the night and the tickets will be £10 for a strip of 5 tickets

  • Prizes already include Air Pods, Magnum of Champagne and a bespoke bottle of Scotch

    Please get in touch with a companion or write to us at info@thegoodcompanions.org

How you can help…

  • Attend our events where we raise funds (more below)

  • Alert us of deserving cases - either via one of the Companions you may know or the contact link here…

  • Become a Good Companion - we welcome people to our monthly meetings to see how we do this

  • Join our mailing list - simply complete the contact form here and add ‘join mailing list’ to the message box

2025 Planned Events

  • Curry Night with Elvis - Vojan Restaurant March 2025

  • Quiz Night & Buffet Supper - Loughton Club June 2025

  • 900th Meeting of Good Companions - A Celebration July 2025

  • Annual Dinner and Auction - October 2025

    Please get in touch with a companion or write to us at info@thegoodcompanions.org
     Note All venues and Dates will be confirmed nearer the date

Making a positive difference for a new start.

The Good Companions have many stories of those people we have helped over the past 83 years. Some of them are described in the simple summaries above.

Here is one of the sad stories from the past year. A local mum who was sadly abused was forced to leave her home with her two children aged 14 and 8 years old. Suddenly homeless and scared, she and the kids spent a couple of nights in a car while trying to figure out what to do. Those 2 days turned into a long 14 weeks while she desperately sought help - for more than 3 months, the three of them were sleeping in the car for shelter. Finally, she was able to get a job and was able to pay for a motel room and that was their first break.

The family was able to find a small unfurnished flat in a converted shield house near Harlow, Essex. Good Companions have been able to help her furnish the flat and they now have new beds, mattresses and a sofa. We have also been able to continue helping by sharing vouchers from Tesco over the past few months to help them get the basic shopping they need including towels, pens, paper and food.

The lady sent us a message that she now sees a light at the end of the darkest tunnel they had been stuck in. She said that the three of them had smiled together for the first time in longer than she can remember.

Hello Good Companions. The flat is starting to feel like home. Your beds are very comfortable and we are all finally getting a good night’s sleep. The vouchers helped us get started with the essentials that we desperately needed. Thank you again for being so lovely”

We wish we had heard about her earlier and helped the family sooner. If you are reading this and may know of similar cases that are worthy of help, then please read the next section and take some action that will make a positive difference.

How we raise funds

The Good Companions run a few events throughout the year to raise funds including our Annual Dinner and Auction night spectacular, Clay Pigeon shooting, a dinner at the Greyhound Races and Charity Golf days.

Anyone is welcome to join us at these fun packed events and all money raised is distributed to deserving local people. We will add the dates, venues and prices of our events here when they are fixed and share them with our mailing list - if you are interested please contact us here (or via the email info@thegoodcompanions.org)

The Good Companions meet together on the second Wednesday of every month in Loughton and if you’d like to attend to see how we plan to raise and distribute these funds, you are welcome to pop along - please email us or speak to any Companion you may know.

NEWS

Here is a letter that confirms the positive help that The Good Companions are able to achieve

Putting the Fun into fund raising

Our most significant contribution to raise finds in recent years has been the Auction at the end of year Annual Dinner. The Companions have excelled in securing amazing prize lots that have raised significant funds for the following year - and the wonderful guests that win these prizes have all enjoyed these experiences and returned for next year’s auction!

If you want to help and know a company or someone who will help donate a prize, please do contact us.

Helicopter trip to the Races

Private Sailing trip to the Isle of Wight

Private wine tasting evening and dinner

A word from our Our Lifetime President, Mr Brian Dilloway

I have recently attended my 632nd meeting of the Good Companions and am so proud that we are still able to help so many deserving people and make a difference in their lives when they most need it. I’ve seen how a small act of kindness has impacted people for a long, long time

We have had many Companions over the decades and the spirit and values that were established during the World War still exist in our group today. Giving back has always been important - today more than ever. Many thanks to you for helping us to help others.

NEWS

Here is a recent article published in the Epping Guardian relating to

the work we do together with 3Food4U charity