A team of committed volunteers has been named as finalists at the 2018 North West Charity Awards.

The North West Charity Awards are the charity world’s biggest event in the north, and Cumbria Community Foundation’s grants panel has been shortlisted for Volunteer Team of the Year Award in recognition of the vital work they do for the charity. The panel is made of 14 people, the majority being retired professionals and all either have relevant experience or are extensively involved in their communities across the county.

The panel meets five times a year and last year reviewed more than 1,300 applications requesting grant funding. When the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund was launched in December 2015, the panel met monthly and a sub-group was formed, consisting of 8 members convening daily to award grants to individuals and families affected by the flooding. The sub-group undertook a huge amount of work that only ended in November last year with the closure of the Recovery Fund in November, awarding £10.3 million in grants.

Representing the team on the night will be panel members Willie Slavin, Nick Utting, John Whittle, Hokey Bennet Jones, Saj Ghafoor and Chris Thomlinson.

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive Officer, Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We are delighted our panel has been shortlisted for this award. Its members bring a whole range of experience and knowledge to help us make what can often be difficult decisions when assessing applications.

“Being finalists for Volunteer Team of the Year is a real homage to all the dedicated work they do for the Foundation and we are truly proud to have them on the team.”

Last year, Copeland resident Gary McKee was named the Fundraiser of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony.

The grants panel members will find out if they have been successful at the North West Charity Awards dinner at The Principal Hotel in Manchester Friday 12th October.

Charitable causes across the county have received a financial boost of more than £180,000 in support of their projects.

Cumbria Community Foundation’s recent grants panel approved 28 applications from community groups, supporting a wide range of activities including counselling for people with mental health issues, tackling bullying and training for young volunteers. It also awarded financial assistance to 17 individuals to help with further education and sporting excellence.

SAFA Cumbria offers help and support to individuals and their families affected by the impact self-harm can have on their lives. It received £15,000 from the Moorhouse Grassroots Fund, the Cumbria Young People’s Fund, Barrow Community Trust and the Fryer Grassroots Fund to continue providing counselling to people as young as 11 from across the county who are dealing with issues that may cause them to self-harm.

Last year the charity provided around 2,000 counselling sessions to more than 200 people.

Cindy Daltioni, Director of SAFA, said: “As a charity, SAFA relies totally on grants and donations, without which we could not operate.  This welcome grant from Cumbria Community Foundation will allow us to continue to provide the important support for some of the most vulnerable people in our area.”

‘Give a Day to the City’ encourages people, organisations and business around Carlisle to get together and deliver volunteer-led projects in their community. Organised by Carlisle Vineyard Church, it received £5,000 from the #iwill Fund to engage with 10 schools to encourage pupils to volunteer and consider how they could help their communities for the event in 2019.

‘Give a Day to the City’ started with 12 projects and 500 participants in 2015, growing to 35 projects and more than a thousand participants in 2017. It has delivered projects including beach cleans, tea on the green and renovating 3 uninsured flood-affected properties.

Miriam Lowe, Give a Day Coordinator, said: “This year, more than 600 children and young people volunteered in projects across Carlisle in ways that were new to most of them. Next year, thanks to the grant, we expect over 1,000 youngsters to get involved.

“Give a Day empowers young people to engage in their communities. We’ve seen real transformation in the mindset of many of the young volunteers; it helps develop confidence, skills and character while benefitting the whole community.”

South Lakeland Mind supports over 400 people suffering with mental health issues each year. With a current waiting list of more than 20 people for one to one peer support it received £7,280 towards the salary of a part time Peer Support Officer to manage and develop this service.  The Officer will spend time recruiting volunteers and matching them to clients to respond to the increase in demand for the service.

David Beuzeval, Chief Officer at South Lakeland Mind, said: “The generous support we have received from the Foundation will enable us to continue to develop our services, meeting increased demand and enable more people to improve their wellbeing.”

Ellen Clements, Grants & Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation said: “There are many worthy organisations around the county that continue to provide help to the local communities. We are ever grateful to the generosity of our fundholders to enable us to support these vital services.”

On Saturday (8th September) night twenty-nine people paid more than £150 per head to enjoy a twenty-one-course fine dining experience with a twist and raised nearly £7000 for charity. The unusual menu, designed and executed by Martin Frickel, sous-chef of The Forest Side utilised only ingredients that would otherwise have gone to waste. The one-off event called Wasted! With Martin Frickel, took place at Dome House in Bowness and raised money for four Cumbrian charities; Cumbria Community Foundation, Kendal People’s Café, Windermere Food Bank and Growing Well.

Martin said: “Abundance is one of the success stories of the human species, an insurance policy against a bad harvests. To see what I mean all you have to do is step back into history a little and look back to the creation of agriculture around 12,000 years ago to see even then that it was all about creating surplus…

“So waste is nothing new, to that end the developed nations have around 200% of the food they need and it’s acceptable to bin the surplus. It’s odd that wasting food isn’t a taboo and it should be!

“Just imagine walking out of a supermarket with a couple of bags of food and dropping one in the car park, and then walking off and leaving it there to rot… That’s essentially what we are doing when we create food waste and that’s criminal, especially when you think of the people around the world who are struggling to feed themselves, even in our own country, a supposedly developed nation.”

Martin Frickel ran a brigade of six professional chefs who created courses which showcased ingredients including clotted cream on its use-by date and whey to make fudge, and one course was spiced crispy plaice bones! The concept for the night came from the unconventional Windermere based Events and PR Company Flock. Founders Sophia Newton and Janett Walker approached Greg Stephenson of Gundog PR who specialises in Culinary & Lifestyle PR, Greg instantly knew Martin was the perfect chef to see it through as he was already an advocate for the cause. Greg also orchestrated the wine flight that accompanied the meal. Using coravined bottles and samples, even the fine wine itself was donated and would otherwise have gone to waste.

Sophia Newton said: “Doing weird and wonderful events that make people think is what we love most but this was particularly special thanks to the amazing team of people that made it happen. Wasted! was a true showcase of talent, teamwork and generosity. Everyone involved gave their time, produce or expertise for free, it was humbling to see our idea brought to life in such a remarkable way.”

Martin Frickel explained further: “It’s apparent the gulf between the haves and have not’s has widened. Food poverty is a reality and this coupled with the food waste agenda inspired me to do something positive and to make a difference. My response was to create Wasted a pop-up restaurant to raise funds for four brilliant charities who help a whole range of people access food to be able to survive.

“Wasted has been a huge success and it’s down to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved. But it wouldn’t have happened without the cooperation of the wholesale suppliers, producers and supermarkets who were involved in donating waste food and drink. It’s reassuring to note that they too recognise the need to address food waste and food poverty and by becoming involved they have showed that they are keen to really make a difference as well.”

Unconventional approaches to the night included representatives from the charities helping with Front of House. Andy Beeforth OBE of Cumbria Community Foundation, Helen Pateman and Gillian Cowburn of Kendal People’s Café, Magda from Windermere Food Bank and Clairelouise of Growing Well all rolled up their sleeves and helped clear plates, do the dishes and run the Pay-As-You-Feel bar.

Chief Executive of Cumbria Community Foundation, Andy Beeforth OBE, said: “Martin and his team created the most remarkable dishes served in a stunning venue, raising money for incredibly valuable causes, highlighting the tragedy of food waste and food poverty.”

The total money raised will be divided between the four charities.

Media & Content Officer

(22.5 hours per week) £22-24K full-time equivalent, depending on experience

Cumbria Community Foundation provides high quality philanthropic services (grant making) to a wide range of public, corporate and individual donors. It is an award-winning charity that has distributed more than £41M in grant aid to community groups and individuals throughout Cumbria.

We are currently looking to recruit an experienced Media & Content Officer to support our Communications Manager and wider team in promoting the organisation by raising its profile and awareness within the local community.

If you are a skilled copy writer who can produce interesting and engaging content for all of our media platforms, want to work with a highly respected organisation in a challenging but interesting role then download the job description and application form. 

• Job description
• Application form

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Annalee Holliday on 01900 825760

The post is based at our offices in Dovenby near Cockermouth.

Closing date for applications is 9.00 am Monday 17th September 2018.

Interview date is Monday 1st October 2018.

Charitable causes in and around the Barrow area have received a share of more than £6,000 to provide support to some of the most disadvantaged people across the peninsular.

5 community groups and 1 young person received a share of the funds at Cumbria Community Foundation’s recent Barrow grants panel. The funding supported activities including training mentors for autistic adults, a summer sailing trip and updating kitchen equipment in a nursery.

Furness Carers received £1,000 from Barrow Community Trust Fund to provide transport for Young Carers to access activities at Hindpool Community Centre to give them a break from their caring roles. The charity’s Young Carers project offers respite, one-to-one support, youth club, advocacy and holiday activities to over 200 youngsters aged from 5 – 18 and many are unable to afford the cost of travelling to the centre, where the activities take place.

Craig Backhouse, Chief Executive Officer, Furness Carers, said: “We are very successful in supporting Young Carers through our activities programmes which are funded from various grant giving trusts and donations. However we are getting more and more requests from families to provide additional transport getting Young Carers safely to and from these activities. This grant will allow us to support those Young Carers who are most in need to give them some much needed respite from their caring role.”

The Triple A Project (All About Autism) provides specialist support for people with autism and their families as well as training and support for organisations and professionals in understanding the condition. It received £2,377 from the Fryer Grassroots Grants Fund and Barrow Community Trust Fund to enable Triple A Navigators to work alongside autistic adults in a mentoring capacity to help them develop the skills and emotional resilience to become an active in their communities.

Helen Storey, Chief Executive Officer, said: “There is an increasing number of autistic adults approaching Triple A who have difficulty navigating a variety of life situations – often made worse by misunderstandings.  This grant will have a significant impact and increase the number of individuals we will be able to engage with in the area, alongside raising general awareness of the specific issues and challenges faced.”

Ellen Clements, Grants and Donor Services at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “Organisations like Furness Carers and the Triple A Project are essential in tackling issues in the local community and with help from the funds managed by the Foundation they can make a real difference.”

Lakeland Rowing Club is celebrating the addition of two new sculling boats to its fleet thanks to the generous support from the United Utilities Legacy Fund, administered by the Foundation.

On Wednesday 1st August 2018, Lakeland Rowing Club named and launched the first of the new boats from its new site on the Isthmus, near Keswick. The boat was named named ‘John Knox’ after the club’s founder member and president John Knox, who has developed the club since it was founded in April 2007. The club has now 98 members including 32 junior members from Keswick School and Cockermouth School and continues to grow.

Ian McCoy, Cumbria Stakeholder Manager of United Utilities North West, commented: “United Utilities would like to thank Lakeland Rowing Club for this opportunity. Having given this some thought I think calling the boat ‘John Knox’ is very apt. John has created the legacy at Lakeland Rowing Club and United Utilities are hopefully helping this fantastic legacy.”

Chris Pratt, Chairman of Lakeland Rowing Club, said: “Thank you to United Utilities for its generous funding of the new boats. Ethusiastic juniors, whether training or competing, will be testament enough to the benefits of the grant.”

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive of Cumbria Community Foundation, commented: “The club is going from strength to strength and due to its popularity with local youngsters and its ever-growing junior section, it’s fantastic United Utilities have supported this project to purchase the additional boats so that more young people can develop their rowing skills and compete more regularly in the sport.”

Karen Blackley and her daughter, recent Learn to Row students of new of Lakeland Rowing Club, said: “Joining LRC has given me the opportunity at 50+ to learn a new skill. Whilst I have found it very challenging at times, the sense of satisfaction when it goes well is really rewarding. This could not have been achieved without the dedication and support of others at the club, who have given up their time to help me.

“My daughter also rows and my aim is one day for us to row together in a double. There are few sports where you can partake together as a family. Therefore what can be better than living in the Lakes and getting to enjoy the landscape from a unique view point?!”

To find out more about the United Utilities Legacy Fund see our grants page.

Community organisations working with young people in Cumbria are being encouraged to apply for funding to get youngsters involved in activities such as campaigning, fundraising and volunteering, and make a positive difference to their communities.

Grants of £1,000 and £5,000 are available from the #iwill Fund, a UK-wide campaign with the aim of getting 6 out of 10 young people involved in social action by 2020. Projects must benefit those aged between 10 and 20, or up to 25 for disabled young people.

Last year, more than £80,000 was shared between 19 social action projects, benefiting 1,500 young people all over across Cumbria.

Chestnut Events in Kendal received £5,000 for its Youth Grows Project. Youngsters aged 15 to 18 have taken part in social action projects with a horticultural and healthy eating theme, developing skills and attributes to build self-confidence and understand the world around them. Many of them have continued to volunteer on an ongoing basis and will eventually create their own marketing campaigns to promote their projects.

Youngsters in Allerdale, worried about mental health issues within their community have been getting valuable support thanks to £5,000 awarded to Ewanrigg Local Trust’s ‘We Will’ project. 8 young people, some with mental health issues themselves and some concerned about their friends, identified that there was a lack of mental health resources available to them. The youth led ‘We Will’ project aims to train 250 people in Youth Mental Health First Aid and has arranged two workshops to bring people together to discuss the issues and opportunities and make campaign plans.

Around 60 local youngsters are being active in improving their local community thanks to £5,000 awarded to Mirehouse Residents Group for its Mirehouse Young Voices project. Members of the local youth group worked alongside the adults to set up a social media presence for young people on the estate to establish a youth voice and start challenging the poor opinions that the older generation often have of young people. It looks at how youngsters can develop their local environment by highlighting areas of concern or improvement from a young person’s perspective. They host inter-generational sessions to share progress, and have cookery sessions to share skills and knowledge that often isn’t passed on.

25 junior school pupils in Barrow have been building their confidence and believing in themselves through learning how to develop and run a social awareness campaign. Furness Future Leaders’ Academy received £5,000 for its Saturday Club project, designed to build the essential skills that local young people, for varying reasons, often fail to learn at school. The students used the 2.5 hour weekly sessions to choose, design, and deliver a campaign in their community with a set budget. They developed skills in leadership, citizenship, resilience, self-management and awareness; teamwork, innovation and creativity.

Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation said: “We want to fund enjoyable projects that build and share skills and demonstrate positive impact on the wider community including simple, basic things like making new friends, trying out new activities and improving life skills.”

The closing date for the next round of applications is Friday 3rd August. For more information or to apply visit the grants page or contact the grants team on 01900 825760.

Award winning social enterprise, Rebike Cumbria Ltd received £9,825 from the Cumbria Housing Partners Fund, managed by the Foundation, to expand its successful job mentoring project which supports long-term unemployed into work.

Based in Carlisle, Rebike refurbishes and repairs donated bicycles for sale, providing a work based training environment for trainees and volunteers.  Geoffrey Tunstall, Director of Rebike said: “Trainees often come to us with issues which makes it difficult for them to compete in the job market. For some a lack of confidence and social skills is a barrier; for others disrupted schooling means they don’t have the formal qualifications employers ask for.

“Whatever their issue, our only criteria to accepting to is that the trainee wants to participate and improve their employability skills so they can go on into voluntary or paid employment.”

“The grant will enable us to double the number of work placements we currently support and is a great boost to the project.”

Training includes bicycle maintenance, health and safety, and customer service. Additionally trainees learn how to work alongside others in the work place, meaning the step from Rebike into another working environment is less daunting. By offering supported work placements Rebike can help them get the work experience they need, so they can show an employer just what they are capable of contributing and achieving.

Jacob and Am (photo) are two of the recent trainees.  Jacob has been a volunteer with Rebike for six years; he has just secured his first paid job and is continuing to volunteering .

Am is from Laos and has been volunteering with Rebike since early this year, he is planning to set up his own furniture workshop and is learning essential skills for running a business.

John Clasper, Chair of Cumbria Housing Partners said: “Our community fund is aimed at supporting projects which offer opportunities for people to improve their employability skills.  As an established social enterprise, Rebike already has a proven track record of success with volunteer training, re-skilling as it recycles. By adding the work mentoring project as an extension of that training they are now able to give extra support and confidence to trainees as they take their first step into employment, we are pleased to be able to support them.”

Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer ,Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “The charity sector works closely with people facing disadvantage across the county in many ways and so is ideally positioned to

help people back into employment. Rebike has achieved tremendous success over the years and this project aims to get more than 40 people into employment.  As a local business, Cumbria Housing Partners is pro-active in funding projects in the county that really make a difference to people’s lives.”

Cumbria Housing Partners is the only local procurement group for social housing landlords in Cumbria. We help our member landlords save time and money by buying materials and contractors for repair and maintenance work on their homes. By working together and using our combined buying power, we make savings for our members that can be reinvested to improve the lives and futures of people living in our communities.

Over the past year Cumbria Housing Partners Fund, administered by Cumbria Community Foundation, has provided grants to individuals, community and voluntary organisations for training and projects aimed at improving people’s employability or education. The £100,000 fund has also supported projects which provide advice and guidance, support and engage people in their local community, and improve community facilities.

For  more information on the fund, visit the grants page.

Charitable and community groups in the Tallentire area are being called on to apply for funding to make a difference in their area.

Established by RES, and managed by Cumbria Community Foundation, the Tallentire Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund awards grants of up to £10,000 and support projects in the parishes of Bridekirk, Blindcrake, Gilcrux and Plumbland.

The fund accepts applications from community projects, giving priority to activities that are environmental, educational, sporting, or community related.

Gary Higgs, Grants and Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to open the latest round of funding and provide financial support to make sure that the needs of the community are met.

“To date, 23 projects have received a share of £280,000 and the money has made improvements in village halls, provided activities for youngsters, updated playground equipment, purchased catering equipment for a lunch club and provided life-saving equipment for the first responders group.

Plumbland Community Group received £4,132 to set up a local breakfast club and purchase outdoor play equipment for the youth club. Secretary, Sharon Stephenson, said: “We wanted to encourage youngsters to meet up with their friends outdoors rather than just communicate via computers. The grant has brought our community together.”

The fund is open for applications until 24^th August 2018. For more information, visit the grants page or call Gary Higgs on 01900 825760.