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Funding awarded to local groups in Barrow

Charitable causes in and around the Barrow area have received a share of more than £18,000 to support some of the most disadvantaged people across the peninsular.

The funding, awarded at Cumbria Community Foundation’s recent Barrow Community Trust grants panel, has benefited seven community projects and will support a range of projects including an intergenerational lunch club and young disabled people.

Building on the success of Leonard Cheshire’s YouthAbility: LifeAbility project last year, a grant for £5,000 from the #iwill Fund will support another 45 young disabled people aged 16-25. The programme offers comprehensive support over one year through a variety of life-skill workshops and volunteering opportunities in the Walney community.

Leslie McLeese, Team Leader, YouthAbility Cumbria said: “We are very grateful for this funding from the Community Foundation. The funding will make a huge difference to young people with disabilities within the Furness area, giving the young people we work with the opportunity to learn new skills and assist them on their transition to adulthood.”

Mind in Furness will undergo a major development in the coming months with its extension and refurbishment of its community offices in Barrow. Thanks to a grant of more than £3,000 from the Cumbria Fund, mental health service users will still be able to access the service at a temporary location while the work is carried out.

A grant of £2,988 will benefit more than 50 older people in the Dalton in Furness area over the next two years. Grub and Games is a lunch club that will take place once a month at Dalton Community Centre in joint partnership between AGE UK, Dalton Creatives, Dalton Community Association and pupils from Dowdales School who will join the older people in table top board games followed by soup and sandwiches.

Barry Doughty, Chairman, Dalton Community Association, said: “We are really pleased to receive the grant as this will sustain the luncheon clubs. This is an important social gathering for those who may spend time alone. The individuals can share common concerns and plans and learn about other activities taking place at the centre and around Dalton.”

Ellen Clements, Senior Grants and Donor Services at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “Help from the funds managed by the Foundation make a real difference in the community. The grants awarded at this panel are essential and will tackle important issues such as isolation in the local community.”

Applications for the next round of funding need to be submitted by Friday 20th December 2019.

Charity’s 20th anniversary exhibition continues tour around the county

Cumbria Community Foundation’s 20th anniversary exhibition ‘Giving Back, Looking Forward’ continues its tour around the county and is now appearing at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick.

The exhibition, which will be at the theatre until 2nd November 2019, focuses on inspirational and moving personal accounts of how giving through Cumbria Community Foundation has changed Cumbrian lives for the better and addressed serious issues during some of the most difficult times the county has faced.

The Foundation exists to address disadvantage by making life changing grants and promote philanthropy. In its first 20 years, more than £44 million has been given out and these grants have made significant contributions to the lives of some of the county’s most disadvantaged people. This is made possible by the support of families, businesses and charitable trusts that choose to give through the Foundation.

Theatre by the Lake’s Chief Executive, James Cobbold, said: “We’re delighted to be able to support Cumbria Community Foundation’s work by hosting this exhibition. Theatre by the Lake, like so many Cumbrian charities and community organisations, has been fortunate in receiving grants from the Foundation and its fundholders for our community engagement programmes over the years. It is wonderful and humbling to see so many stories of the far-reaching impact the Foundation has made for our communities.”

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive of the Foundation, said: “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved over the last 20 years. It’s quite humbling to see this selection of photographs together in this exhibition and to read the stories about truly inspiring Cumbrians. We are really fortunate as a charity that we have generous donors who set up funds and enthusiastic supporters who have dreams of a better Cumbria and go about making it happen.

“We are aiming to take the exhibition to all corners of the county to showcase the work that our supporters enable us to do in Cumbria and I am very grateful to Theatre by the Lake for their support.”

The Foundation is also marking its anniversary year by launching the 20th Anniversary Cumbria Fund Appeal to raise £250,000 to support disadvantaged and vulnerable people, young and old, across Cumbria. While the exhibition photographs are not currently for sale, they can all be found in a book to mark the Foundation’s 20th year, titled Giving Back, Looking Forward. Copies of the book are available for a donation and all monies raised will go to the 20th Anniversary Cumbria Fund Appeal.

To donate to the appeal please click here.

The exhibition will be on display in the Circle Gallery, Theatre by the Lake, Lakeside, Lake Rd, Keswick CA12 5DJ, during the theatre’s opening hours.