The Grants Committee of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation met in March to discuss the latest applications received for funding. The meeting resulted in six community groups receiving funds totalling £44,676.
Facility upgrades and community activity were at the heart of the grants activity. St Paul's Church runs a free Community Café, which is a valuable safety net for many local families. The Café is always busy and alongside socialising opportunities it provides a source of pre-loved clothes, toys, arts, etc. The committee awarded £10,000 to allow the continuation of some ongoing building work and allow the Community Café to keep up the valuable work in the community.
Letchworth Garden City Bowls Club applied for a grant to build a stairlift and steps to support the aging community to continue to access the facility. £1,500 was granted to enable access to the club room for members, visiting teams and guests. All members will be able to access the kitchen and socialise during intervals or inclement weather. It's hoped that this development will lead to an increase in membership and further enhance the club's future.
The Wilbury Community Café was granted £1,176 to support the running of the monthly Café at the community hall behind the St Thomas Church. The free Café is run by volunteers and provides children’s activities, a brick-a-brac stall and free food and refreshments, alongside a community larder. Wherever possible the food is provided by sourcing rescued food from local supermarkets and other food rescue providers. With the support provided by the grant the Café can continue supporting the 150 visitors from the local community with additional services such as bike repairs and signposting to local networks also.
The Heritage Foundation currently has a strong strategic focus on Children and Young people in the community, and their needs and voices being heard. The grants committee were pleased therefore to receive an application from Caudwell Youth, who approached the grants committee for a sum of £5,000 . Caudwell Youth is a charity that specialises in mentoring young people aged 16 - 24 who are care experienced, have been exploited, at risk of joining gangs or are suffering with mental health. With this grant they will be looking to support ten young people in Letchworth by providing mentoring support.
The final grant was awarded to Letchworth Garden Shed, who presented in person to the grants committee. A breakdown of the successes and importance of the service and what it means to the community was given. They asked for £25,900 to fund the premises to allow the continuation of the service. The Garden Shed provide a library of equipment that residents can borrow for free. To be part of the library residents are expected to pay a small membership fee and this enables them to borrow items on a weekly basis. They have 480 members subscribed currently and have seen a growth and need for this service to continue. The teams have worked tirelessly to engage the community and have worked on initiative to create interaction, such as feedback on a chalk board. The GS incorporates an upskilling element and runs regular workshops. They have become an integral part of the tapestry of the town and the grants committee acknowledges this and happily offered the grant for the continuation of this wonderful service to the town.
Are you thinking of making an application?
In March, the grants committee received 7 applications which is a strong indication of the role the grants programme plays in supporting core community groups in the town and an indicator of the support required throughout the community in Letchworth.
Grant applications are usually completed online and then proposed to the grants committee who meet regularly to discuss the details and viability of each application.
The Grants committee meet four weeks after each deadline, and we accept grants applications any time during the year. Potential applicants are advised to visit https://www.letchworth.com/grants before the respective deadline.
Please be advised through our wider grants program, we are working closely with schools around mental health programs. However, if you are looking to do something in the community, based on young people’s mental health, please contact Alastair.stewart@letchworth.com or call 07714 521567 for an initial chat to discuss.
