June's Community Stories

Vanny Radio Youth Programme

The Community Resilience Team has helped secure £10,000 of National Lottery Award for All funding for Vanny Radio. The funding will support Vanny Radio to work with young people in the Foleshill area, learning broadcasting and photography skills, as well as life skills such as cooking healthy meals.

Vanny Radio contacted the Community Resilience Team to ask for advice as their previous attempt to apply for funding had been unsuccessful. A team member met with Vanny Radio and looked at previous applications and offered help and advice on updating their funding application.

The successful application expanded on the broadcasting and media skills, as well as emphasising the important social, health and wellbeing aspects which young people gain from the project.

We look forward to hearing more about the growing Vanny Radio Youth programmes!

Pictured is Vanny Radio’s Thaddeus Atiemo in a training session with some of the young people supported by the project.

If your community organisation needs support applying for funding, please get in touch with the team communityresilience@coventry.gov.uk

Settlement Support CIC

Settlement Support CIC focus on providing settlement and integration support services for African and other disadvantaged migrants within the UK. They engage, support, and empower individuals who need the right settlement information to settle peacefully and succeed in their chosen community.

The journey of this organisation began with the determination and commitment of a group of migrants working together to break barriers in the desire to settle into the Coventry community.

Some of the services Settlement Support CIC deliver include:

Immigrant advocacy services - Support disadvantage immigrants and their families to overcome emotional and psychological challenges they may experience following their arrival.

Settlement and integration services - Support settlement by providing practical help in areas of form filling, pointers to council services and other areas required for accessing relevant services.

Collaboration with local council services - Provide information and signpost to council services, support agencies and professionals to understand services available to them.

Break barriers to employment - Provide information, webinars and forum to support Black and Minority Ethnic and other disadvantaged migrants seeking employment.

Encourage take up of STEM by girls - Historically uptake of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics have been deemed for boys.

The Community Resilience Team secured a grant for Settlement Support CIC to help with the cost of room hire and volunteer expenses. Following this funding success, the team is now working with the organisation on a large value, National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund application. If successful, this funding will allow Settlement Support CIC to rapidly expand their capacity to help migrants, and meet the increase in demand for their services. We hope to have an update on the latest funding application soon.

Find out more about the real change Settlement Support CIC is making, or to get involved with the organisation, please visit their website

Canley Community Church Stay and Play Trip to TwinLakes

Canley Community Church run a successful stay and play toddler group for pre-school age children and their carers on Wednesday mornings 9-11am (term time only).

The Mucky Ducks stay and play group, have so many wonderful children attending from the Canley community, the organisers wanted to arrange a special experience for them and their families.

The Community Resilience Team worked with Canley Community Church to secure funding for the group to visit the TwinLakes theme park in Leicestershire.

The children loved every moment on bumper cars, train rides, boat rides, kart rides, water park, slides, as well as seeing the animals. The trip gave the Mucky Ducks group a shared adventure and resulted in precious moments to remember as a community group.

Marlene Brooker, Event Organiser from Canley Community Church said, “We couldn’t have done this trip without the generous help of Coventry General Charities. Their funds were able to help towards providing a coach for the trip, contribution towards entrance fees and a packed lunch for 81 hungry people. Weary kids and adults came back very happy after an eventful day. Adults are now asking when is the next trip!”

Find out about future community events organised by Canley Community Church