Pictured: Portsmouth A Band of Brothers which was awarded £10,000 from HIWCF funding partners, GVC
Grants worth nearly £300k have been divided between 41 charity and community groups across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) and its partners.
This announcement comes thanks to partnerships between HIWCF, and organisations Moneybarn, Kenwood and GVC through their respective social inclusion and community funding initiatives.
The funding is now supporting projects across the region offering lifeline services such as food banks, dementia care and mental health initiatives as well as employment and parental support services and sporting activities.
Among the recipients is Southsea-based Literacy Hubs, which supports young people from the least advantaged communities to develop literacy skills while working with communities to create learning programs that meet their specific literacy needs. Literacy Hubs was awarded a £24,750 grant from Moneybarn to further develop its volunteer base and deliver literacy support to target schools in Portsmouth with the aim of increasing educational attainment and employability.
Jackie Rainford, Literacy Hubs CEO said:
“We provide imaginative spaces for children to have additional reading and writing support, at our magical ‘pirate ship’ hub at the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth. Children follow a programme for nine months and learn to write pirate stories, which we publish into a book, a film script, which they act out and students come to film, and a piece for a local radio station.”
“We have a small team of qualified teachers, but we couldn’t do anything without our wonderful volunteers – the HIWCF and Moneybarn grant will enable us to continue training our volunteers and continue with our programme of recruitment and safeguarding updates.”
A further £10K was awarded from GVC to Portsmouth A Band Of Brothers – a charity committed to positive social change through personal development activities. The organisation leads mentoring programmes and trains and supports older men to mentor younger men.
Stephen, a young service user who has been impacted by their work said: “So much was outside my comfort zone. But it really helped me get in touch with my feelings. I realised that a lot of my old behaviour was down to feeling responsible for my parents splitting up. Also, I found out positive ways to channel my anger, rather than negative ones.”
Jacqui Scott, HIWCF CEO said: “The immense generosity of our partners and donors, including Moneybarn, Kenwood and GVC, means these rounds of funding can be directed to community groups working tirelessly for change across our region and really help tackle some of the deeper and more entrenched social issues we are facing”
