Community – £1,450,500 distributed in 195 grants
The largest grant in this category was for £250,000 to Kingsgate Community Centre in Peterborough. Kingsgate is a church community group that focuses volunteer effort on a wide range of community support activities. These range from furniture recycling to courses on money and debt management; parenting and relationship skills. The centre also runs daily after-school activity clubs for disadvantaged children, youth groups for teenagers and volunteering days involving litter-picking, repainting run-down community spaces and a companion scheme for the elderly. They receive referrals from over 65 social agencies across 5 counties.
A donation of £50,000 was given to Pembroke House which is an active community project in Walworth occupying a substantial Grade II* listed property in one of Europe’s largest social housing estates. The Trustees contributed towards essential renovation and restructuring which will make the building sound and fully accessible and enable a wider range of activities and participants to be involved.
Other grants included £25,000 each to Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough towards new purpose-built facilities for its community work; Wanstead Flats Playing Fields for new changing rooms and St Agnes Miners & Mechanics Institute for restoring its building into gallery space and multi-use community facilities. Village halls in Mudford, Gretton, Clothall, Glenfarg and Punnetts Town all benefited with grants of £10,000.
