Success Stories
John Gulson Women’s Group
Sarah Bhayat is an activist in her community. She applied for and got a Community Champions Grant for £1980. A group of Muslim women, headed by Sarah, have got together through friendship, family and religion and have identified a need for their area to have some strategic ways forward to help improve the locality. There are a number of issues including cultural sensitivity and the traditional role of women in their families, barriers which must be tackled gently and carefully. By slowly strengthening the group from within, building on skills already identified and training in areas which are weak, it is hoped the group can have a strong infrastructure from which to move forward. The group do want to progress but at a pace that suits themselves and their community. They feel a softly softly approach is best.
Following the success of the above grant, Sarah then applied for a Neighbourhood Renewal grant for £2500 to fund a keep fit class for the ladies. As the majority, but certainly not all of the ladies are Muslims, there are difficulties for them to access sporting and other fitness activities. By organising these classes with the religious sensitivities in mind Sarah has ensure that the ladies get the levels of fitness they need without offending anyone, a tricky balance to achieve.
Warwick District Allotments Federation & Fresh Food for All (Lillington)
These two organisations work together, in the main as the leading volunteer is the same in both! Judy Steele works tirelessly to promote healthy eating habits amongst the disadvantage young people.
She starts by helping them grow their own produce on allotments and then shows them how to prepare and cook it.
Any vegetable or fruit not readily able to be grown on an allotment can be sourced cheaply in various markets, and Judy has helped organise volunteers to source and obtain the food, which is then distributed cheaply amongst those who need it, especially single mums in Lillington.
Families with young children have shown an interest in growing their own fruit and vegetables. A community allotment has been set up. Fruit planted, vegetable beds dug, one planted, salads planted in greenhouse. We are working with volunteers to improve the site and provide level paths for participants. Practical work with families has included:
The Heart of England helped with a National Grid Grant of £1840 to Warwick District Allotments Federation, so that there could be amongst other things a coordinated approach amongst the plot holders.
An example is:-
Support allotment holders at Black Lane Black Lane Allotments Association are in need of support with general regeneration of their site. In addition they have experienced problems with vandalism. Judy has provided support by:
As well this grant has leveraged out a further £3700 in other grants to assist the organisations.
The Fresh Food For all was a PIE grant supplied by Heart of England CF for £5000.
Coventry Crusaders Wheelchair Basketball Team
This group were awarded £7000 from the Local Network Fund for Children and Young People to set up a Junior Basketball team. The association started roughly 9 years ago. The idea of the group was to promote racial and social harmony through the medium of sport for all persons including those who suffer from physical disabilities. The club has been so successful with the disabled senior players they are competing against other teams in the National League. The group would now like to form a Junior Basketball team for the under nineteen’s, as they are the only group in Coventry offering this opportunity, Many disabled young people have very limited opportunities to meet and socialise with other people from similar circumstances. The youngsters will be able to play and have fun in a safe environment, have the opportunity to compete against other clubs around the country and eventually be able to play in the National Junior League; it will help these young people achieve their full potential.
Sahil Project
The organisation was awarded £10,000 from the European Social Fund Global Grant Funding to deliver the “Women’s Activity Programme” project. The association started in 1988 it is a voluntary organisation based in the heart of Foleshill on the north side of the city. The Sahil Project was primarily set up to offer practical and emotional support to Asian women who at some point in their lives have been experiencing stress and isolation and depression. The women’s activity programme is aimed at Asian women that have been in isolation in their own homes since arriving to Britain. These women have little or no qualifications to help them into employment. The “Women’s Activity Programme” Project was identified through the assessment and consultation with client users. The organisation will arrange workshops in confidence building, CV writing and job search as well as English and ICT both of which are accredited to OCR or City and Guilds certification. These workshops and courses will be delivered by staff from City College Coventry at the centre as the women feel safer in their own environment. The organisation envisages 50 people benefiting from the project and on completion they envisage five gaining employment and 10 going into further education.
North Warwickshire CVS Community Accountancy Service - “ Count on Us”
North Warwickshire CVS had been aware from their development work with a variety of groups that while obtaining funding would often form the initial request for help, managing the group’s money was often a problem as well.
The requirements of the Charity Commission or Inland Revenue could be daunting. Committees were relieved when someone came along who was willing to take on the Treasurer role but did not have the checks and balances in place to ensure that this role was being fulfilled correctly, so leaving their group open to poor management and in the worst case, fraud.
The CVS felt that there was unmet need for the provision of payroll and bookkeeping services as well as advice and training. Funding from the Heart of England Community Foundation enabled the CVS to check this belief out with a survey of local groups and so launch the “Count on Us” community accountancy service.
The service provides a professional accounts and payroll service which, in addition to dealing with accounts and paying salaries, can also provide advice on good practice in employment.
“
Count on Us” also provides extensive training for organisations to better control their finances themselves. The service is offered throughout North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth.
Steve Povey, Chair of Kingsbury Village Pre-school says that:
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Having someone who really knows what they are doing relieves the pressure and worries”.
Jane White, Manager of North Warwickshire Volunteer Centre says:
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Since joining the ‘Count on Us’ service the Volunteer Centre has been very impressed by the reliable, efficient service it offers. There is always a helpful member of staff at the end of the phone whenever we have any queries, they understand our needs and we know that our payroll is in safe hands’.
The funding received from the Heart of England Community Fund enabled research and consultation with groups, the purchase of multi payroll and accounts packages and publicity material as well as membership of the Community Accountancy Network which provides staff with up-to-date financial information and advice on developing the service.
The service has proved so popular that the CVS is preparing a development plan for the provision of Community Accountancy and will be seeking further funding to support this. There is now national recognition of the importance of infrastructure organisations developing group’s practice in financial management through the Government’s Change Up strategy.
MALFH project at the Foleshill Multicultural Open Forum
St Paul’s Church is the venue for a pilot scheme which encourages people to become more active in their daily lives.
Fact: lack of physical activity is as dangerous to our health as smoking and 60-70% of older people are inactive. People need to change their habit, that’s where MALFH can help.
MALFH run training courses (MOTs) to encourage people to change their daily active living. Only a small amount of physical activity is needed to improve health, 60 minutes of gentle activity every day is all that is needed to stay healthy or improve your existing health.
Blood pressure checks, cholesterol, body fat, BMI, and lung function will be checked free of charge during the course and followed up every 3 months. Often people forget how much they have improved, therefore monitoring is available to aid and encourage their continued activities. The result? Better physical and mental health, fewer aches and pains, improved posture and balance due to stronger muscles and bones. This in turn leads to weight control and improved quality of life.
Walking needs no specialised equipment and can be easily tailored to most people. Even wheelchair users can work out their upper body by 'walking'! People are often advised to get more exercise but don’t realise the benefits of walking. Regular walks have taken place already through the Foleshill Multi-cultural Open Forum, but this project aims to develop and extend the current service. John Wilkins, the worker for the project is qualified as a 'Referral Programme Consultant' which means local GP's have endorsed his work and can refer patients to him to take part in walking activities, and John is 'British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation' qualified which means he is qualified to carry out heart defibulation should a user suffer a cardiac arrest.
The £4976 funding for the project came from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund small Grants Programme.
Flexi-Friends
Sponsored by Social Services, this project was originally a pilot project, offering low cost domestic service in people’s homes and two luncheon clubs for the over 55’s. The pilot was so successful that the women formed a company limited by guarantee and have taken ownership of the service, and are hoping to expand it, by offering mentorship and training programmes. Flexi-Friends received a grant of £9,981.88 from the European Social Fund Global Grants programme. Some of the training will be externally accredited and parts with an in-house certificate after which on going support will be available to assist volunteers secure employment or further qualifications in the care sector.
Shortcrust Training Limited
In 1998 the organisation started a project offering catering skills for disabled adults within a Social Services Day Care Centre. As the project has grown the organisation feels it is the right time for them to become a co-operative business offering a quality catering service in the way of a sandwich round and contracting to the local authority day centre as well as providing buffets to public and private sector businesses. They will also provide snacks and beverages to the public through a coffee shop. The organisation received £10,000 from the European Social Fund Global Grants programme. The funding will help 11disabled adults move from the safe haven of the Day Care Centre into a business like environment where they will be training towards their NVQ level 1in Catering and Hospitality.
Coventry Central Firefighters Association
The Association started roughly 10 years ago. The idea of the group was to take disadvantaged young people from inner-city areas in Coventry to give them something to do in the evening. The group promoted the club through school visits within the Radford, Spon End, Hillfields and Foleshill areas of Coventry, as well as by holding Fun Days at the Fire Station. After setting up the club it was identified through the young people attending that they would like a homework club where they could access computers/internet to help with their school work. Many of the young people who attend the Club come from inner city areas and do not have access to a computer or the internet at home. The Association was granted £7,000 from the Local Network Fund to help set up the homework club. The Fire Service has designated a room for the group and all equipment will be secured in it under lock and key.
Guild Place Residents Association
Due to the end of Single Regeneration Budget funding from Coventry City Council, a group of local residents on the Pridmore Estate recently got together to save their local community house from closure. The group decided to run it for themselves. The house will offer several services including information, education, room hire, children’s activities, offering a valuable service for young and old alike.
The group made an application to the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and received £5,000. The grant was used to cover the cost of a launch day and setting up costs. The group has also raised enough money itself through fundraising events to enable them to employ a number of staff to run the house alongside volunteers.Baddesley Fun Club
Baddesley is a village in North Warwickshire, which suffers from rural isolation. It can be difficult for families with young children to access facilities in local towns, so a parent and young persons group was recently set up to provide a stimulating and safe environment for children to socialise and interact. The regular meetings enable the parents to socialise, and strengthens community spirit in the village.
The group identified a need for new equipment, but didn’t know how to find the money to buy it. So they approached the Heart of England Community Foundation, and were successful in applying to The Local Network Fund for £6,163.86, to fund a "wish list" of equipment which enabled them to provide good quality educational toys for the children. Now over 30 children are benefiting from the grant, with more children able to share that enjoyment in years to come.
Bedworth Choral Society
A grant of £1,800 to buy a portable electric piano has set a local choir free to make even more melodic visits to more venues, and help other worthy causes raise more funds.
The Heart of England Community Foundation has awarded the Bedworth Choral Society a grant from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s ‘Bridging the Gap’ fund, a small grants programme managed by the Foundation.
The Choir, whose members, both male and female, vary in age and background, entertain a wide variety of audiences. Within their busy schedule they perform several times a year at charitable and fundraising functions. They are also popular visitors at residential homes for elderly people.
Many organisations rely solely on subscriptions from members and income from fundraising which limits how they operate, grants like this enable them to become more professional and reach a far wider audience.
