12 local charities and community groups receive an early Christmas gift from Nimbuscare
Christmas has come early for 12 local charities and community groups after York-based healthcare provider Nimbuscare allocated more than £50,000 worth of grant funding to them from its Community Fund.
Having launched the Nimbuscare Community Fund at the beginning of the year, the not-for-profit provider of primary care services, which is made up of 11 GP practices across the York area, invited community groups and projects that were able to meet specific criteria to apply for grants to help fund their activities. In May, around £80,000 worth of grant funding was given to 19 different community-based projects and organisations working to enhance the mental health and emotional wellbeing of local people. For this latest round of funding, the focus was on projects and activities that connect people with the place they live and community life, and enhance and promote the wellbeing of local people.
On both occasions, the Two Ridings Community Foundation, an independent charity, helped to assess the applications and allocate the funding on Nimbuscare’s behalf. As part of this latest round of grants, the following organisations will receive funding towards their activities:
Dandelion Arts; Door 84; Move The Masses; St Sampson’s Centre; The Hut, York; Action For Elders Trust; Beverley Community Lift; Ellerton and Aughton Village Hall; New Visuality; Our Father’s Heart; The Island; and York In Recovery.
Maddy Ruff, Chief Executive of Nimbuscare, said: “We had a great response to our invitation for community and charity groups to apply for funding from the second round of grants from our Community Fund. Although we sadly can’t help all of them, the ones we chose to support this time around are all making a tangible difference in terms of connecting people to their communities and enhancing their well-being. It’s wonderful to be able to bring 12 very deserving charities and community groups/projects a little Christmas cheer.
“As a not-for-profit organisation made up of 12 GP practices across York and the surrounding area, we’re very proud of our commitment to investing back into the communities that we serve.”
Community groups and charities that missed out this time around will be able to apply to future rounds of funding, details of which will be announced in 2023 on the website: www.nimbuscare.co.uk/investing-in-our-communities/
Nimbuscare’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Ellie Holmes, recently visited some of the organisations that received grants as part of the first round of funding back in May to see how the money is being spent. This included a visit to a Community Café at St. Thomas Church on Lowther Street in York, which benefited from a grant of more than £4,000.
Community and Pastoral Worker Anne Wooldridge explained: “We’ve used the grant to buy materials for our Community Café sessions, but we’ve also been upgrading our kitchen so that we can cater for more than 20 women when we host our Women’s Breakfast events. We’ve installed new lighting and are putting in new laminate flooring that will be much easier to keep clean.”
Ann Bartlett, who regularly attends a weekly Creative Café at St Thomas Church, said: “I like making things and meeting people here, I look forward to it.”
Staff and volunteers at St. Thomas Church run free community café sessions and other activities for local people of all ages, and with a wide variety of interests and needs, on a regular basis. Full details can be found on the ‘St Thomas' in the Groves’ (@StThomasYork) Facebook page.
The Nimbuscare team also visited York Travellers Trust, where a grant of more than £4,000 is being to used to provide mental health support to York’s Gypsy and Traveller communities, including both drop-in and one-to-one sessions with a professional counsellor.
When asked what they would take away from the project and how it would impact them and their community/relationships, one of the local people who has been receiving one-to-one mental health support said: “All of it. Being better. Remembering to breathe and walk away from situations so I can sort it out later.”
Violet Cannon, Chief Executive of York Travellers Trust, said: “There’s a high suicide rate in the Gypsy and Traveller communities, and people don’t tend to talk about their mental health. We’ve been wanting to do some mental health work for ages, but needed to be able to employ a professional to help us. As well as the drop-in sessions that we offer locally, we’re currently offering one-to-one sessions to four individuals, which are proving very successful.”
Ellie Holmes said: “It was wonderful to be able visit some of the charities that received grants earlier in the year to see what they’ve been using the money for and hear about the huge difference that they’re making to local people.
“Congratulations to all the organisations that have received grants this time around too.”
