HIWCF is delighted to announce that a new round of community grant funding worth £40,741 has been awarded from the Ford Southampton Community Fund. The grants are providing a fantastic boost for eight Southampton and Eastleigh based charitable projects, focusing on providing technical and behavioural training to improve opportunities and employment prospects for young people.
Grant awards have been made to eight organisations in this latest round of funding:
| Organisation | Area |
| 11th Eastleigh (North Stoneham) Scout Group | Eastleigh |
| MAST Mayflower Studios | Southampton |
| Monty’s Community Hub | Southampton |
| Polygon School | Southampton |
| Propbox Youth Theatre | Southampton |
| R.C.S Ltd | Eastleigh |
| Safe New Futures | Southampton |
| Youth Options | Southampton |
Monty’s Bike Hub (pictured above) in Southampton has received a large grant of £6,000 to support the Youth Bike Workshop Project. The workshops are run by trained volunteers and mechanics, enabling young people to acquire new technical cycling and maintenance skills that they can begin putting to great use immediately. The workshops also provide a support network where participants can develop positive, healthy relationships, increase their confidence and gain collaborative teamwork and problem-solving skills, while also gaining access to work experience opportunities and formal qualifications.
Joshua Allen, Manager at Monty’s Bike Hub said: “We are very grateful for the continued support of HIWCF and FORD. This new funding will go towards our Youth Bike Workshop, with weekly drop-in sessions working with local young people from our estate in Sholing. We fix bikes together, allowing opportunities for them to learn new practical skills, be informally mentored and make a new positive contribution to the community.”
The 11th Eastleigh (North Stoneham) Scout Group (pictured left) is a new Scout Troop established earlier this year. With 18 members now attending regularly, the indoor and outdoor workshop programme for the coming year covers a wide range of activities, including electronics, mechanisms, construction and structural engineering. A small grant of £2,960 is enabling the group to purchase essential equipment and will help with the hire of community facilities, leadership training and safeguarding.
Jim Vaughan, Chairman of 11th Eastleigh (North Stoneham) Scout Group commented “Leaders of the new 50-strong Eastleigh Scout Group launched in June – Hannah Butterworth-Smith and Richard Bowring – are over the moon with their grant. We are hugely grateful for this generous grant, our new group can now begin investing in outdoor education equipment and STEM activities, which are key parts of our #SkillsForLife youth programmes.”
Gary Thompson, Superintendent Transport Operations Southampton, Ford Motor Co Ltd said “We are extremely passionate about giving young people the chance to improve their life skills and achieve their personal goals. By supporting disengaged and disadvantaged young people through our community funding, we can help them to overcome the barriers that can limit their access to work and give them the life opportunities that they deserve.”
Jacqui Scott, Chief Executive at HIWCF added “I would like to thank the team at FORD for choosing to partner with HIWCF on their charitable giving. The Ford Southampton Community Fund enables the Foundation to offer a significant grant-making programme, which is once again supporting a range of truly inspiring projects in the Eastleigh and Southampton area. We work incredibly hard to ensure that our grants are directed to the most disadvantaged communities in our region to support those most in need and it is only with the generous support of our donors that we can continue to make a difference to the lives of local people in need.”
