The grants committee met on Monday 17 October to discuss the most recent grant applications for the Communities Looking Forward 2022 programme.
Also, the committee came together to discuss a potential new stream of funding to support the residents of the Letchworth through the winter months. The People, Places and Communities fund is for all community groups to help towards the impact the rising costs are having on local voluntary and community organisations. The Grants Committee felt it was essential to support groups through these challenging times and agreed to a £35,000 programme.
Letchworth Foodbank receives a regular grant and is a working partner of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. They visited the committee and presented their yearly report so the Foundation could assess the need in the town. In this report they said:
“We are immensely grateful to the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation for the support and encouragement you give up both financially and in so many other ways. Without your help, we could not continue to provide food and support to those in need.”
During the meeting, the following grants were awarded:
Mediation Hertfordshire was granted £5,000 to promote the provision of services directed toward mediation, conciliation or reconciliation between persons, organisations, authorities, or groups that may be involved in disputes of any nature. The charity has 24 years of experience in its field and had an 80% success rate in the 2021/22 period.
The committee agreed to grant Letchworth Corner Sports Club £15,000 to replace their floodlighting and to ensure fittings are economical and better for the environment. This grant should help the club save £10,000 a year in electrical bills, which will help them continue their work.
Hertfordshire Disability Sports Foundation reached out for a grant of £11,158 to continue their cycling proficiency work into 2023. In 2022, the group:
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Worked with 260 young people across Letchworth Schools
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161 of these children are now able to ride a bike independently. They attended a skills session in preparation for Level 1 Bikeability with the HCC Cycle Training team
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By the end of the sessions 70 of these children could ride a bike independently
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69 children received a reconditioned bike and a new helmet
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They repaired a further 11 cycles for the other children
Letchworth Educational Settlement were awarded £7,000 towards the delivery of a marketing programme to raise awareness of The Settlement, expand the offer, and build the audience
The grants committee will meet again in December 2022. To apply or find out more about our grants programme, visit our page or email alastair.stewart@letchworth.com
