Monthly Grants: a new year with new opportunities for churches and charities
Here are some recent projects that have received funding through our Community Impact and Building Improvement grant programmes.
Community Impact Grants
Veg Box Donation Scheme, Potton, Bedfordshire
The Veg Box Donation Scheme (VBDS) started in 2020, during Covid-19. The founder is a keen vegetable gardener and advocate for healthy eating and realised in her volunteer role at a foodbank, only tinned and dried foods were available. VBDS was founded to provide a healthy supplement to foodbank provisions, starting with excess produce donated by the local allotments in Potton, Bedfordshire and a few referrals from a local charity. This has now increased to more villages and towns in the area, with contributions from supermarkets, farms, local vegetable businesses, schools and residents, and referrals from a wide range of agencies and charities.
The donation scheme is a fantastic service giving families on lower incomes the chance to access fresh, healthy foods. Statistics shows the poorest fifth of UK households would need to spend 47% of their disposable income on food to meet the Government’s recommended healthy diet. This compares to just 11% for the richest fifth. There is a clear need for healthy food to be distributed to those who can't afford it.
A Benefact Trust Community Impact Grant of £5,100 will enable VBDS to expand its work and fund a greater number of veg boxes. It will also help with essential running costs such as advertising, employment, and volunteer support.
St Giles’ Church, Derbyshire
St Giles’ Church currently provides British Sign Language interpretation at one of their morning services, to support the deaf community in the congregation.
There are currently 11 deaf people who are active within the church, and two of the deaf families are Ukrainian refugees who have become a part of the church family. They also often invite more of their deaf Ukrainian friends to join. Deaf people are constantly excluded from many areas of society including the church, and refugees are often further excluded.
A Community Impact Grant of £1,900 will support the cost of the interpreters at the church’s services and events, as well as funding training and workshops for the rest of the congregation. This will help communication between the hearing and deaf communities, creating a greater sense of inclusion.
New Wings, Manchester
The New Wings Music Outreach Programme is an innovative initiative working with prisoners who have been excluded from engaging with the prison regime, due to perceived educational needs, mental health and behaviour. The course uses Hip-Hop and Rap to help support prisoners to access new things and integrate with prison life in new ways, promoting rehabilitation and challenging repeat offense behaviours. The vision is to see young people reach their potential through the creative arts.
The course is delivered by a former offender who uses his own testimony to relate to, and encourage, prisoners.
A grant of £8,200 will help to develop the course and reach more prisons with outreach in the Manchester area.
Building Improvement Grants
Redeemed Christian Church of God, The Lord's Vine, Harlow, Essex
The Lord’s Vine is based in Harlow Town and is a rapidly growing church with around 2,000 members.
Harlow is an area with increasing diversity – over 40% of Greater London’s population was born outside the UK, as revealed in the 2021 census. The church sees its role as supporting new arrivals with spiritual and practical assistance, including migrants who have faced trauma, discrimination and poverty. However, the church’s existing space is no longer fit for purpose.
A grant of £6,000 will support the expansion of the church with dedicated spaces for multilingual worship and counselling, and improved accessibility to support spiritual growth and outreach activities.
Crossfire Trust, Keady, County Armagh
Crossfire Trust, based in Darkley, has been running for over 40 years, providing support to people experiencing homelessness and those at-risk of homelessness. Crossfire’s work supports over 250 people in crisis every year, tackling the root causes of homelessness such as mental health issues and addiction.
Currently, Crossfire Trust has six new build semi-independent apartments beside its main base, Darkley House, and two self-contained apartments. With support from a £6,500 grant, Crossfire Trust wants to develop the first floor of Darkley House into four private bedsit apartments to accommodate vulnerable young people in need of housing. Alongside the housing support, Crossfire will work closely with young people to get them to a place where they start to make positive choices in life and can flourish.