Community Stories

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  July's Community Stories

  almost 4 years ago
  

  Lenton’s Lane Baptist Church receives funding from the Recovery and Support Grant and Severn Trent!

  Lenton’s Lane Baptist Church is situated in the Northeast of the city and lies within the Longford Ward. The Community Resilience Team (CRT) initially contacted the church during the Covid19 lockdown period but were told it was closed until things returned to normal, but they would appreciate support once normality returned as they had ideas for projects they would like to run.

  
  

  Once the lockdown periods ended the team engaged with the church to discuss their ideas. The church leader Barry Keegan said they wanted... Continue reading

  Lenton’s Lane Baptist Church receives funding from the Recovery and Support Grant and Severn Trent!

  Lenton’s Lane Baptist Church is situated in the Northeast of the city and lies within the Longford Ward. The Community Resilience Team (CRT) initially contacted the church during the Covid19 lockdown period but were told it was closed until things returned to normal, but they would appreciate support once normality returned as they had ideas for projects they would like to run.

  
  

  Once the lockdown periods ended the team engaged with the church to discuss their ideas. The church leader Barry Keegan said they wanted to resume their youth activities due to the impact the lockdown periods had on their mental health, and they needed more equipment to encourage a larger number of young people. He also said he wanted to increase the number of activities in the community hall, particularly around healthy eating and wanted to renovate the kitchen area.

  
  

  The CRT officer advised him to apply firstly to apply to the teams Recovery and Support Grant for equipment for the youth group. Secondly, he advised him to meet with the local funding officer from the Severn Trent Community Fund for the Kitchen refurbishment to discuss the groups eligibility, in which they were given the go ahead to apply.

  
  

  The team assisted the group with both applications, firstly to apply for the teams Recovery and Support Grant which was successful and £650 was awarded to the church for room hire costs, arts and crafts equipment, an air hockey table, and a new volleyball net.

  
  

  The second application to the Severn Trent Community Fund was for a much larger amount of funding on which the team worked closely with the church to complete to make sure that the application had been filled out correctly and that the correct documents had been uploaded to the form. A few weeks after submitting the application the group were contacted by Severn Trent to inform them that they had been awarded £20,000 towards re-furbishing their kitchen area.

  
  

  The church were over the moon to receive all of this funding and are continuing to work with the team to look at other available funding opportunities, to support the groups that use the facility and to set up others once the new kitchen facility is installed.

  
  

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  Clothing Coventry School Uniform Project

  The Community Resilience Team have recently been working with Clothing Coventry to get this much needed project off the ground. Working with the Councils Education Improvement Standards & The Coventry Law Centre the group have managed to secure a total of £38,000 to get this project to provide preloved uniform to families that need support operational.

  Clothing Coventry will be targeting Hillfields and Foleshill initially and branching into other areas across the city as this service develops. This will enable families to access & donate uniforms locally in community venues across the city.

  Clothing Coventry will be working closely with schools, food hubs, while also having pop-ups at HAF Projects and community events. Any organisation interested in being a pop -up venue or regular venue for families to access this service please contact Katie from Clothing Coventry; katie@clothingcoventry.org

  
  

  
  
• Share June's Community Stories on Facebook Share June's Community Stories on X (formerly Twitter) Share June's Community Stories on Linkedin Email June's Community Stories link

  June's Community Stories

  about 4 years ago
  

  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... Continue reading

  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.

  
  

  
  
• Share April/May Community Stories on Facebook Share April/May Community Stories on X (formerly Twitter) Share April/May Community Stories on Linkedin Email April/May Community Stories link

  April/May Community Stories

  about 4 years ago
  

  Godiva Sisters membership thriving after being awarded the Community Recovery and Support Grant

  The Community Resilience team have recently helped the Godiva Sisters apply to the Community Recovery and Support Grant so they could get some support for their group following the pandemic. The Godiva Sisters were formed twenty years ago and is made up of local women from all faiths and cultures who meet to portray characters both ancient and modern. They also raise the profile of minority groups and engendering community cohesion.

  The sessions the Sisters run are mostly self-funded, and because of the pandemic they could not... Continue reading

  Godiva Sisters membership thriving after being awarded the Community Recovery and Support Grant

  The Community Resilience team have recently helped the Godiva Sisters apply to the Community Recovery and Support Grant so they could get some support for their group following the pandemic. The Godiva Sisters were formed twenty years ago and is made up of local women from all faiths and cultures who meet to portray characters both ancient and modern. They also raise the profile of minority groups and engendering community cohesion.

  The sessions the Sisters run are mostly self-funded, and because of the pandemic they could not do their normal fundraising activities. They have benefited from funding from the CRT before and for this reason they contacted us for help again.

  The group applied for the Recovery Grant with the help of an officer for room rent and arts and crafts materials. The grant panel duly agreed to award the group £600 towards the cost of both things. This has given the group short term stability while they look for other external sources of funding.

  The funding has positively affected the running of the group. Membership has increased a lot since the return to in-person meetings, with rent of the meeting place being paid for with the Grant. They are currently operating partially on Zoom too so less confident Sisters can still attend. The Godiva Sisters also partially funded the costumes they wore for the Coventry City of Culture parade with the Grant money.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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  Hearsall Lunch Club for the elderly awarded the Community Recovery and Support Grant!

  The Community Resilience Team recently reached out to the ‘Hearsall Lunch Club’, to offer them some support and make them aware of the current opportunity of the Community Recovery and Support Grant that the team had on offer to support the sustainability of groups post covid restrictions.

  The group had not previously engaged with the CRT and were not aware that they could apply for external funding. The group shared that they were self-funded with members paying a small amount for each session, but this was an added expense for pensioners who were struggling to pay bills and food costs.

  A member of the team met with the group and discussed the opportunities available to them of CRT Recovery and Support Grant and other external funding such as the National Lottery Awards for All Fund. After going through the criteria with them it became clear that they were eligible to apply to both funds.

  The first step was to apply to the recovery grant available through the CRT. An officer met with the group to look at options and the group submitted an application to fund their short term room hire costs and refreshments. The grant panel duly agreed to award the group £1,150 towards the costs of both.

  Following on from the successful application to the recovery grant, the team supported the ‘Hearsall Lunch Club’ in applying to the National Lottery small grants fund, Awards for All. The group had been interested in receiving some funds for transport costs for their members as well as other items to sustain themselves in the longer term. The group were successful with this application and awarded £9,700 towards transport costs, room hire, meals and entertainment.

  This extra support through the grants has helped to reduce the possibility of people who attend the group becoming socially isolated, with many members of the group living alone and now supporting them to attend the group regularly again.

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  Launch of new Youth Hub at St Peter's Hillfields

  A new Youth Hub has launched at St Peter's Hillfields on Tuesday and Thursday 3:15 - 5:30pm to provide a safe place for young people to go after school. Food will be provided along with activities including air hockey, table tennis and pool.
• Share March Community Stories on Facebook Share March Community Stories on X (formerly Twitter) Share March Community Stories on Linkedin Email March Community Stories link

  March Community Stories

  about 4 years ago
  

  Confidence Through Photography Group is welcoming new members

  A night time shot of Coventry Cathedral taken by Neil

  The group was set up in 2017 by Neil Catley who felt there was not much for people with mental health and anxiety issues to do at the weekend. Prior to setting up the group Neil who had agoraphobia did not leave the house for 5 years, this all changed when his mum bought him a camera which he would take to his local park and capture pictures.

  Neil set up Confidence through photography a group that meets for coffee and photo... Continue reading

  Confidence Through Photography Group is welcoming new members

  A night time shot of Coventry Cathedral taken by Neil

  The group was set up in 2017 by Neil Catley who felt there was not much for people with mental health and anxiety issues to do at the weekend. Prior to setting up the group Neil who had agoraphobia did not leave the house for 5 years, this all changed when his mum bought him a camera which he would take to his local park and capture pictures.

  Neil set up Confidence through photography a group that meets for coffee and photo walks to help others who need a boost in their mental health wellbeing. The group are resuming regular meet ups and future plans include workshops and an exhibition of photographers’’ work at a local church hall.

  For further information on joining you can contact - neilcatleyphotography@gmail.com or join the facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/confidencethroughphotography/

  
  

  St Francis Employability, support new arrivals from across the world.

  Local charity, St Francis Employability, recently showcased its extensive work in supporting new arrivals from across the world.

  From Sudan to Eritrea, Afghanistan and Syria, St Francis Employability supports vulnerable and displaced people that arrive from some of the world’s most hostile and dangerous countries.

  One of the biggest challenges in resettling displaced people is integration. Full integration is often impeded through a lack of knowledge on how to access vital services that include employment, education, and health.

  St Francis Employability offers tailored support on these three areas so that new arrivals are given the tools to be able to lead independent, prosperous lives and make a positive impact on their new community; all of which help to result in full integration. St Francis Employability across several programmes such as MyCoventry.

  
  

  Canley Prom Bank is back!

  Canley Prom back is officially opening on Monday 4th April. The Community Centre is looking for donations of suits, dresses, ties and accessories. If you would like to donate or use the prom bank find out more here - https://www.facebook.com/CanleyPromBank