The fund provides grants of up to £500 to charities and community organisations across Kent to support activities for groups of all ages and backgrounds. In some cases, the grants pay for the full cost of the project, but many contribute to larger initiatives, helping these organisations to run more ambitious activities and reach more people. There are three rounds of funding each year, March, June and October.
This year, we’ve so far funded 21 groups with a total of £8946. Some of these include:
- Sevenoaks Three Arts Festival was due to be held in June but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A lot of the young people who would have taken part had already been practicing for their annual competition, so rather than cancel completely they decided to hold an event for solo artists to perform their chosen pieces to an online audience. The fund helped pay for some of the general costs associated with the new format of their event.
- Friday People are running a new project for young job seekers making masks, scrubs and aprons, which they distribute to vulnerable people around Edenbridge. The fund paid for sewing thread and other resources they need to keep their project running.
- Lockdown Larder provide a £25 weekly supermarket shop for people in financial need in the Sevenoaks district, and we assisted with funding to help support 20 families with a food shop.
- Ashford and Tenterden Umbrella support people with mental health issues or who are socially isolated in their area. We’ve helped them pay for the transport service (also a non-profit organisation) which brings members to their group activities.
- Child’s Vision run a programme near Maidstone for children who have witnessed domestic abuse within their families. We paid for stationery, printer ink and some expenses for their volunteers.
- Maidstone Mencap are providing respite holidays during August for disabled children from 4–16 years old. The fund paid for entertainers, arts and crafts materials, stationery and cooking ingredients.
- The Kent Kidney Patients Association applied for funding to pay for fresh food boxes suitable for a renal diet. This paid for 11 patients, who are currently shielding due to being on dialysis, to receive a food box each month for the next three months.
- The Tunbridge Wells Counselling Centre provides affordable counselling to adults. They also run an Assisted Places Scheme, which provides subsidised counselling for people on a low income. During the pandemic, they’ve seen an increase in clients suffering with mental health issues and they needed help to fund these sessions. Our funding has paid for five people to receive five counselling sessions.
- Prince of Wales Youth Club in Canterbury had to close due to the pandemic, so they’ve adapted their service by providing healthy packed lunches and activity packs to local families, helping them stay connected with youth workers they know and trust. The fund paid for 250 packed lunches and 25 activity packs.