Final £134,000 of Community Resilience Fund awards will support projects for families, children and young people
The final phase of Kingston’s Community Resilience Fund has been completed with grants for 14 fantastic community projects and 10 awards to cover core costs of organisations.
In phase 3, a total of £133,545 in awards, ranging from £47.77 to £22,010, will help to deliver projects such as weekly play sessions for families with learning disabilities, arts projects and support to build skills and confidence for young people including those with autism and neurodiversity. Grants will also support new community hubs, kitchens, cooking facilities, cafes and weekly tea time events with activities. In addition, funding will also be given to projects supporting those who are bereaved and combating isolation and building mental health and wellbeing support for men.
Kingston Council Leader Andreas Kirsch says:
“It is amazing how our community, voluntary and cultural organisations have responded in rising to the challenges facing our communities, supporting our residents and making Kingston more resilient.
“We have provided vital support for some organisations just to ‘keep the lights on’ and funded major projects that will now continue to provide hundreds of meals, support hundreds of families and young people, tackle loneliness, isolation and mental health, and make us more connected and supportive across our communities.”
Across the whole £720,000 fund, 97 grants have been awarded for projects and vital costs across the three phases of funding, with awards based on how the organisation or response supports our residents and the borough to be resilient through the current economic crisis.
Councillor Kirsch continues:
“Every phase of this fund has been oversubscribed and we are grateful to everyone who worked hard to submit an application. For those who were not successful, we will continue to work with them to help identify other sources of funding.”
Examples of some of the new projects funded are:
Friends of Anstee Bridge - ‘Be Kind’ arts project for 80 young people
Fircroft Trust’s - Man Shed project to provide a supportive environment for men, combating isolation, building a social circle and promoting talking and mental health.
Kingston Bereavement Support - providing free 1 to 1 bereavement counselling for residents on benefits.
Yorda Adventures - Weekend family play sessions of supported indoor and outdoor play for children with learning disabilities.
New Era Community Projects - to provide a Square 1 Cafe in conjunction with Wheels for All activities at the Weir Archer Stadium, Kingsmeadow.
Voices of Hope - weekly community cooking sessions with ingredients for families in emergency accommodation.
We are now gathering case studies from projects funded over the last year and will be sharing their stories with you soon!
Information about all grants awarded and planned projects is available on our dedicated web page
Information about other Community Grants are available on our website www.kingston.gov.uk/communitygrants