East London charitable projects to benefit from City Airport Community Fund grants

• Community Fund provides financial backing to local groups working to build stronger, safer, and healthier communities in East London
• 12 local charities and not for profit organisations awarded £3k grants to enable significant and positive change for East Londoners
• Funding from the airport’s Community Fund reaches a total of £75,000 in 2021

London, UK, 2021-Jul-24 — /Travel PR News/ — City Airport has unveiled the latest group of local organisations that have been awarded grants from its £75k Community Fund to enable significant and positive change for the airport’s communities in East London.

In the latest round of funding, £35,940 has been allocated to 12 local groups and community organisations covering eight East London boroughs, including Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Southwark, Lewisham, and Barking and Dagenham.

Each organisation has been awarded a grant of up to £3,000 in line with the Community Fund’s aims to build stronger, safer, and healthier communities, create pathways to employment, engender more sustainable and greener communities and raise the aspirations of East Londoners.

Nazmin Begum, Community Engagement and Sustainability Manager at London City Airport, said:

“Now in its third year, the Community Fund is a key aspect of the airport’s support for our local boroughs in East London. We are really pleased to award this funding to such an impressive and diverse range of local organisations, who are delivering vital projects to raise the aspirations of East Londoners and build stronger, safer, and healthier communities for all.”

Successful grantees that have secured funding in this latest round include the Learning Revolution Trust, a charity established by Newham College that aims to remove the financial and social barriers to further education and employment.

Martin Cumella, Chair of The Learning Revolution Trust, said:

“We are delighted to receive support from London City Community Fund for our ‘Relaunch’ project. We are pleased to be working in partnership with Newham College of Further Education and the Newham Chamber of Commerce to support 20 unemployed young people so that they can acquire the skills and work experience that they need to get back to work.  Their job prospects have been adversely affected by the Covid pandemic and this funding will provide small grants to help individuals to participate in training to get them ready for work.”

Funding has also been awarded to Disability Sports Coach, a charity based in Southwark that empowers disabled children and adults to engage in regular sports and physical activity.

Peter Ackred, CEO of Disability Sports Coach, said:

“We are delighted to receive this generous grant from the London City Airport Community Fund. The funding will help us to reopen our network of Community Clubs for disabled people in Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark and Tower Hamlets following their extended closure due to the Coronavirus crisis, helping to ensure disabled people are not left behind as society reopens.”

South London Cares, which provides a network of social clubs for older and younger people across Lambeth and Southwark, has also secured a grant to support the charity’s work to tackle loneliness and isolation and to help bring different generations and communities together.

Jodie Goffe, Development Coordinator, South London Cares, said:

“South London Cares is very grateful for this funding, which will help us deliver 200 Social Clubs for older and younger neighbours across Southwark and Lambeth. The clubs will provide fun opportunities for neighbours of all ages to build community and friendship, and decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation, while bridging gaps across cultural, generational and digital divides.”

A grant has also been awarded to the Romford Town Swimming Club to help establish a new programme that will train swimmers as qualified coaches, creating new job opportunities for young adults in the local area.

Laura Scannell, Chairperson, Romford Town Swimming Club, said:

“Romford Town Swimming Club would like to give a massive thank you to London City Airport for their support. We are a local charity supporting children and young adults to learn a valuable life skill and supporting them on their swimming journey. With the aid of volunteers and teachers we help those from 4 years and above to reach their full potential in the sport they enjoy. With the help of the Community Fund we are able to continue to work with our young adults to train them as teachers of the future and close a need for valuable teaching across the borough.”

This financial support comes at a vital time for the airport’s communities in East London as they continue to deal with the economic and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Community Fund grants will enable the local groups to continue to provide, and expand, the support they deliver to vulnerable people in East London, covering areas such as youth employment and training; health and wellbeing; food poverty; sustainability and the environment; arts and culture; youth sport; and supporting disabled adults and children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The 12 local community groups receiving the latest round of funding are based in or are active in the following London boroughs: Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Havering, and Barking and Dagenham.

The new funding means that, in 2021, the London City Airport Community Fund has awarded a total of £75,977 to 26 charities and not for profit organisations based in East London.

Alongside the Community Fund, the airport has committed to supporting East London’s recovery from Covid-19 by launching a London City Helpers employee volunteering programme, establishing a new youth mentoring scheme, assisting with food bank donations and deliveries, and donating laptops to local schools to support students with their online learning.

Notes to Editors:

The London City Airport Community Fund is a registered charity. no.1182642

The Community Fund was launched in 2019 and provides £75,000 funding annually to support local charities and organisations that represent inclusive and diverse communities across East London.

Grants of up to £3,000 are available for charities and not-for-profit organisations who can demonstrate their ability to enable significant and positive change for communities surrounding the airport.

Applications are invited twice per year and considered by a Board of Trustees comprised of representatives from the airport and the local community, alongside an independent chair.

The Board of Trustees comprises:

• Duncan Alexander, London City Airport Consultative Committee (Independent Chair)
• Liam McKay, Director of Corporate Affairs, London City Airport
• Francesca Pacifico, Head of Environment and Technical Operations, London City Airport
• Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader, Barking and Dagenham Council
• Councillor Asma Islam, Cabinet Member for Environment and Public Realm, Tower Hamlets Council
• Joy-Caron Canter, Centre Director at RDLAC, representative from Newham

The Trustees review applications against clear criteria, with applicants asked to demonstrate how the funding would be used to support the Community Fund’s key themes of:

• Building stronger, safer, and healthier communities
• Creating more sustainable and greener communities
• Creating pathways into employment
• Raising aspirations for East Londoners

Further information on the Community Fund is available at:
https://www.londoncityairport.com/corporate/responsible-growth/community-fund/

The 12 organisations that have been successful in securing grants in the latest funding round are detailed below, grouped by the East London Borough in which they are primarily based:-

Newham

Learning Revolution Trust was established in 2012 with the aim of assisting the most disadvantaged young people in Newham and East London to gain access to further education and employment opportunities. The grant will help support the Relaunch project, developed by the LRT in partnership with Newham College and the Newham Chamber of Commerce, to provide 20 unemployed young people aged 18-24 to acquire the skills and work experience they need to re-enter the labour market.

Royal Docks Learning & Activity Centre provides free weekly food parcels and healthy home-cooked hot meals to vulnerable local families. The centre seeks to address hunger as a health issue, and partners with other local organisations to meet the need of residents by attracting supporters and securing food donations. The funding will help provide free food parcels and hot meals to local families at risk of food poverty in the Royal Docks.

5es Development, a charity based in Newham, aims to support young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) by helping them to find new roles or to progress via portfolio-based learning. The charity is running a pilot employability training programme for young people with learning difficulties, working to place them with local employers through the Government’s Kickstart scheme. The aim is to find 6-month work placements for the young people who complete their training, while also providing them with one-to-one mentoring support.

Tower Hamlets

Ocean Youth Connexions was established in 2000 as a youth and community organisation to support young people in Tower Hamlets. OYC offers a wide range of activities from youth clubs to community fun days, sports training, and study support. OYC is creating a new cycling initiative to help young people learn how to fix and maintain bikes, cycle safely, plan journeys and go on expeditions around the borough. The aim is to increase the confidence of young people, and to encourage more of them to choose cycling as a healthier and greener transport option.

Social Organisation for Unity & Leisure (SOUL) was founded in 2003 to cater for the needs of the local community in Tower Hamlets. The charity supports families and young people, working to tackle poverty, unemployment, and underachievement in education. A new project will see the charity work with women in Tower Hamlets to raise aspiration and to support them to enter the job market via assistance with CV writing, interview skills and preparation, job hunting and applications. A key focus will be mothers with school-age children, training them to acquire the skills and attributes employers are looking for.

Hackney

Clapton Commons Boys Club aims to ameliorate the effects of deprivation on disengaged and disadvantaged children and young people in the London Borough of Hackney. The charity provides stimulating and constructive activities to improve young peoples’ skills, talents, and emotional wellbeing in a supportive and non-judgmental environment. A new Creative Arts programme has been established to support the social, emotional, and educational development of 45 SEND children aged 10-13 through skills-based activities, including music, art & design, woodwork, and team building.

Lewisham

Sapphire Foundation has worked with more than 4,000 young people aged 16-30 over the past four years. The charity aims to provide young people with opportunities for self-development and to inspire them to build successful careers and hopeful futures. The Sapphire Employability Academy (SEA) programme is designed to help young people gain access to work, training, and leadership development opportunities. SEA was established to develop active citizenship skills among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Greenwich, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Tower Hamlets, seeking to tackle unemployment by giving young people the independence and freedom to thrive.

Lambeth

South London Cares was established in 2014 and operates a network of social clubs across Southwark and Lambeth, working to reduce loneliness and isolation, improve the long-term wellbeing of older and younger people and bridge cultural and generational divides. The charity works with older neighbours most at risk of isolation, including those over 75, those with long-term health conditions & those living alone or in sheltered accommodation. The younger people in the network are often new to the city, far from friends and family and seeking a deeper connection to place and community.

St Matthew’s Project aims to provide a safe and encouraging environment where disadvantaged young people from Lambeth can enjoy sports and learning opportunities, help them to fulfil their potential and improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. A new programme offers young men aged 18-25 the chance to take part in structured sporting activities and gain nationally recognised vocational qualifications, with the aim of supporting them to make positive life choices and fully re-engage with their local community. The project will raise aspiration and give young people the confidence and skills to succeed and overcome the barriers they face.

Southwark

Disability Sports Coach is a charity based in Southwark that empowers disabled children and adults in London by providing them with the opportunity to enjoy regular sports and physical activity. Since launching in 2013, over 20,000 people with a range of disabilities have been supported. The charity runs 14 pan-disability community clubs across London, annual disability sports festivals and inclusive coaching sessions in schools and colleges. They also train teachers to confidently deliver sport to disabled children.

Havering

Romford Town Swimming Club provides swimming at all levels for people aged 4 and above. The club promotes swimming locally, and in an atmosphere where swimmers are encouraged to reach their full potential and experience the fun of competition, as well as enjoying a friendly and sociable club experience. Due to the pandemic, the club is in need of new funding, and the grant will enable them to provide a coaching programme to swimmers who show an interest in teaching others, allowing the club to retain talent and provide new job opportunities for young adults.

Barking and Dagenham

Nekh Welfare Foundation serves a disadvantaged, inner-city community in Barking and Dagenham that is situated in an Area of High Deprivation. Established in 2005 by members of the local BAME community, NEKH aims to meet young people’s diverse needs by raising aspiration and promoting achievement; supporting personal and social development; and helping empower young people and bolstering their confidence levels. A key focus of NEKH is enabling opportunities for employment, education, and training so that young people find sustainable paid employment and careers.

Contact:

media@londoncityairport.com

Source: London City Airport

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