Millions in funding unlocked to transform communities

Lincolnshire

• In Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, £230,000 was recently awarded to support an employability programme with Magna Vitae to help and support people to gain jobs in hospitality and leisure and access training opportunities and work experience leading to potential long-term employment. 
• Additionally in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, Furnichurch was awarded £118,028 to enable the Charity to continue its aim of relief from poverty for people in and around Mablethorpe by providing food and furniture. 

Theddlethorpe Partnership Chair, David Fannin, said:  “Community Investment Funding contributes towards the costs of providing community and social infrastructure and is there to support local projects and non-statutory services.

“The Theddlethorpe Community Partnership is listening to local people and supporting ideas that improve community, environmental and economic wellbeing. It is public money, and the advisory panel will be using it for public good for as long as it is available.” 

Lincolnshire funding recipient, Aeneas Richardson, Executive Director for Magna Vitae, said: “We are delighted that Magna Vitae has been chosen to lead on the Employability Programme to support local educational providers, uplift skills, and employment opportunities this project will help create.  

“This will benefit Magna Vitae hugely, especially with the opening of the new leisure centre in Mablethorpe but it will also simultaneously help individuals and other employers in the town and the immediate surrounding area.” 

Matthew Leighton, a leisure attendant, who took part in the ‘Aspire to Be’ programme through Magna Vitae in Lincolnshire added: “My confidence has definitely got a lot better, I can talk to people more. They’ve put me on an NPLQ course which is my lifeguard qualification, and it’s pretty much got me a whole career.  

“I was in a rough place mentally, and after being on the course I’ve got so much better.  It’s a massive opportunity for me.” 

Cumbria

• In Mid Copeland funding has now been spent in many areas, including £75,000 for a new emergency vehicle for Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team. 
• In Allerdale Always Another Way was awarded £40,000 to support children, young people and adults with issues around mental health. 
• In South Copeland Friends of Eskdale School received £37,000 for the installation of Cumbria’s first school biodome at St Bega’s, as well as planters, soil, seeds, seedlings and nutrients; and Millom Bowling Club were awarded £16,000 for a new greens mower. 

Mid Copeland Partnership Chair, Andy Pratt, said: “It’s brilliant to see all of these local projects receiving funding, coming to fruition and making a huge difference to so many people across our communities. There’s such a wide range of projects which shows the versatility of the funding and all of the different ways it can be used to provide new and enhanced facilities.” 

Recent recipients of the Low Level Waste Repository Socio-economic Fund include: 

• £9,275 to Time To Change (West Cumbria) to support local homeless people by refurbishing rooms at Calderwood House – an emergency homelessness hostel based in Egremont, which since 2015 has had over 400 users of the facility. 

• £5,000 to I CAAN West Cumbria to support people and families with autism, in and around Cumberland by providing a programme of activities. 

• £125,000 to the Cumbria Community Foundation towards Better Tomorrows programme encouraging people within Cumbria to become accredited in youth work and increase the number of young people having access to support from youth workers to reach their full potential. The fund supports the Dream Placement programmes, a unique Cumbrian initiative, project managed by the Centre for Leadership Performance (CforLP), that brings together young students aged 16-18 for work experience in the February half-term across businesses and industry in the county. 

Rachel Holliday, Chief Executive Time To Change (West Cumbria) Project CIC, added: “We pride ourselves in West Cumbria on the way we look after our most vulnerable. Everyone who finds themselves homeless should have a safe place to live, somewhere they can feel safe and get the right help they need.”