The Grants Committee of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation met in May to discuss the latest applications received for funding. The meeting resulted in eight community groups receiving funds totalling £40,608.
Community support and rehabilitation was a key theme running through this round of applications. The committee expressed a resounding show of support towards an application from Resolve, who were granted £10,000 to enable them to continue to deliver community-based services at its present level until mid-2025. Resolve, situated in Openshaw Way, deliversevidence-based drug & alcohol treatment and therapeuticservices. Aside from Resolve, there is minimal support available in the community. This grant to Resolve, offers huge benefits to the users of the centre by driving down homelessness, confidence boosting, reducing criminal activity and improving mental and physical well-being.
Home Start Herts, provide support for families struggling with issues including post-natal depression, isolation, physical health problems, mental health and bereavement, Home Start Herts was awarded £10,000 to assist in funding 3 months 1:1 work with a number of families, and to run a wider family group over the coming year.
Sports and leisure activities were well represented in this round of applications. The committee considered applications from the Letchworth Cricket Club, Hitchin Water Polo and Street Dance. The Letchworth Cricket Club was granted £4,500 toward coaches and equipment and training. The Club is volunteer led. They need the coaches to thrive and keep running. The volunteers and participants have been making a contribution individually the grant from the Heritage Foundation would top this up. The club has notable welcomed local Afghanistan refugees to the team and there is an interest in the wider community.
Hitchin Water Polo was granted, £1,000 towards funding equipment for the club to play competitive fixtures. The club has two main fundraisers each year, one of these is a
raffle the other is a water polo festival at the open-air pool. These two events enable them to generate a very small surplus.
Street Dance was awarded £5,020 towards Street Dance workshops during the summer holidays and learning workshops in September, concluding with a performance in October. The Street dance classes have been hugely popular and it is anticipated that between 35 – 40 young people will become involved in the project. The project targets children from lower income families where accessing similar mainstream opportunities are beyond their financial capabilities. The project aims to support communication development, improve self-esteem and confidence and much more.
The Herts Vision Loss the self-help organisation supporting blind and partially sighted people received a grant for £4,048 to set up sight life peer support groups, community engagement forum meetings and assistive technology and accessibility workshops. The grants committee felt passionately about the need to raise awareness on this matter and felt their support was important in this matter and for the residents of Hertfordshire.
The Letchworth Festival returns to the town in June 2024, and £5,640 has been granted by the committee to fund elements of the event this year. The volunteer-led event is aimed at displaying the many community groups and organisations that operate in the town. This grant will enable the organisers to hire equipment, market, cover the insurance required and carry out health and safety needs associated with the running of the event.
Also in June is Armed Forces Day. The committee awarded the Letchworth Royal British Legion a nominal sum of £400 to fund a military band as part of the 2024 event. Armed Forces Day has been running for 10 years. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the role the armed forces and to enable local organisations to raise funds through a series of stalls.
Are you thinking of making an application?
In May, the grants committee received 11 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.
