A project helping to tackle social isolation in North Warwickshire has been given a big boost thanks to a grant worth £1,750.
Time Out, whose staff visit lonely people in the community and provide support by keeping them company or taking them out, was awarded the money by the Foundation after being chosen to receive the grant by regional accountancy firm Harrison Beale & Owen (HB&O).
The organisation was highlighted to HB&O by the Foundation, which manages the firm’s grants and highlights charities to the firm that it could support as part of its corporate social responsibility.
A cheque was presented to Time Out’s founders Tracey Watson and Julie Goodman, as well as Time Out users Mary Hancox and June Day, by Chartered Accountant and HB&O Charity Chairman Craig Payne, trainee accountant Rebecca Green and Aaron Greaves of HoECF at Dobbies Garden Centre in Atherstone.
Staff at HB&O collectively voted for Time Out to be awarded a grant after being impressed with the work they do in the community. Tracey, operational manager and secretary at Time Out said:
“This money will help subsidise the cost of the support work we do – it currently costs £10 per hour for the people we visit and take out, but the actual cost to us is higher than that.
“Helping people like Mary and June is so important. A simple trip with them to a place like Dobbies Garden Centre does so much for their wellbeing.
“We were so happy the staff at HB&O voted for us to be awarded the grant – it really meant a lot to us and we’re also very grateful to the Heart of England Community Foundation for telling HB&O about us in the first place.”
Tracey and Julie founded Time Out in April 2018 after realising many people were suffering from social isolation through their previous work with North Warwickshire Borough Council.
They realised the need for more one-to-one support, and founded the organisation to actively solve this problem. Time Out provides companionship to lonely people with regular visits to their home or by taking them out to a place of their choice, supports them with activities such as shopping or gardening, and transports people to and from appointments if they struggle to get around.
Its work also gives respite to families or informal carers who may look after their loved ones in their spare time. Craig said:
“We’re very keen to support smaller local charities and organisations which don’t necessarily receive the same recognition as the larger charities do, when their work is equally as valuable to those who are in need.
“Time Out offers much needed support to those who are no longer able to venture out unaccompanied to conduct the activities they previously enjoyed, people who have limited social interaction and also provides a respite for informal involuntary carers to interact with their own friends too.
“Social isolation is a growing problem so it’s great to see the group getting out into the community and actively supporting lonely people.
“But we would not have been aware of them if it wasn’t for our relationship with the Heart of England Community Foundation.
“Without the Foundation’s expert local knowledge, the great work Time Out is doing in North Warwickshire might have gone under our radar and that’s exactly why we work with them because it means we can rest assured our money is going to the right places in the heart of the communities in which we operate as a firm.”
Tina Costello, director of the Foundation said:
“When HB&O told us they would prefer to support smaller charities in Coventry and Warwickshire, we knew Time Out would be a great fit.
“Its work is crucially important to help lonely people in North Warwickshire, but it’s not as well-known as other, more prominent charities.
“So it’s great that HB&O has chosen to support them. The money will help Time Out continue to change lives in North Warwickshire for quite some time.”
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