June's Community Stories

Local charity Baby Godiva's growing success after successful funding opportunities and support from the team!

Over the last 18 months the Community Resilience Team have been supporting a local charity called Baby Godiva. The charity provides free of charge, pre-loved and new nursery items and consumables to families living in poverty.

Since the charity’s formation in 2019 it has helped 1,834 families with over 6,000 items, and the CRT has supported them in applying to a variety of funders. Since receiving support from the CRT they have been successful in bringing in around £40,000 worth of external funding so that the charities amazing work can continue.

Prior to their support with the team, the charity shared that they limited knowledge and skills in applying for external funding, relying on donations to sustain the project, therefore were looking for some support to upskill themselves.

Isabelle McCabe, who runs the charity, was offered guidance and tips on how best to write a funding application and provide with links to potential external funders that they could apply to. Working with the CRT she began to grow in confidence in filling out funding applications. Since being supported by the team, she has applied for some funding grants by herself and has been successful in bringing in several thousand pounds worth of funding in addition to that achieved while working alongside the CRT officer.

One of those funds was the CRT’s own Community Recovery and Support Grant. Through this Baby Godiva were able to purchase fifteen Moses baskets with stands, ten cots with mattresses and ten stairgates. They now have one cot left with four people on the waiting list, five Moses baskets left, and no stairgates left. They have been able to support ten families with the Grant money.

The team will continue to support the charity where necessary such as making them aware of available funding and assisting with writing large grant applications.

Sherbourne Ward Queens Jubilee Litter Pick Bringing Together Members of the Local Community!

The Community Resilience team have recently helped the Redeemed Christian Church of God in connecting them to the relevant contacts to enable them to conduct a community litter pick. The aim of the pick was to support the community initiative of the church which is to promote inclusion, diversity, and bonding in the community during the Platinum Anniversary celebration of Her Majesty the Queen.

Close to thirty volunteers of all ages turned out for the pick over the Jubilee Weekend. This included children who were inspired by the Church to give back to their community. With this amount of people, they covered the majority of Sherbourne ward, both ends of the Holyhead road and other parts of the City Centre.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God wanted to give something back to their community during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations instead of holding a party. The Community Resilience Team were able to put them in touch with the councils Greenspace Team to get the pickers, bags, and gloves. It was a resounding success, with the result being a real bonding of the community during a celebratory weekend.

The feedback from residents in these areas was really positive. Many commented to the litter picking team that they were happy to see an organisation in the community taking the initiative to improve their local area. This has injected a positive energy into the Church and encouraged them to plan more community volunteering projects.