London City Airport Community Fund Empowers Local Communities with £36k in Funding
London, UK, 2023-Jul-08 — /Travel PR News/ — London City Airport has announced the successful applicants for the second tranche of funding from the airport’s £75,000 Community Fund.
The airport has awarded £36,023 of funding to 13 charities and not-for-profit organisations covering six East London boroughs including Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Bexley, Waltham Forest, and Redbridge. Each successful applicant will receive a grant of up to £3,000 to build stronger, safer, and healthier communities, and raise aspirations of East Londoners.
Local groups that have secured funding include Salaam Peace, an organisation dedicated to delivering sports and education programmes across East London which attracts 1250 people per week, in addition to Island House Community Centre, a charity providing education and digital skills training to improve the confidence and employability of disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
The announcement follows the airport’s first tranche of community funding in December, which included a donation of £50,000 to local foodbanks to help support communities with the cost-of-living crisis. Since launching the fund in May 2019, the Community Fund has awarded over £400,000 to 120+ charities and not-for-profit organisations to date.
Azi Mohammed, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Salaam Peace, said:
“We are delighted to be recipients of the London City Airport Community Grant Fund. The funding will make a significant impact to the young people from underserved local communities. The grant will be used to deliver a football sessions, workshops and coaching courses for 13-16-year-old boys, which will enhance the physical and mental well-being, social mixing and employability skills of these individuals.”
Paul Rogers, Centre Director, CEO, Island House Community Centre, said:
“Island House Community Centre welcomes the generous funding from London City Airport which will enable us to continue and grow our valuable SKILLS project, providing much-needed digital skills, language and employability training in our local community.”
Jan Mitchell, Project Manager, One Place East, said:
“We are very excited to be awarded Grant from London City Airport Community Fund. This will give us the opportunity to continue our Dementia befriending work with the local community and make a difference to those living in isolation due to this disease!”
Bablu Miah, Head and Founder of Trapped in Zone One, said:
“London City Airport’s funding will support Trapped in Zone One to offer free to access fitness classes to women from marginalised communities in East London. The grant will provide opportunities for local women to get active through weekly group exercises sessions, boosting mental-wellbeing and promoting social activity.”
Robert Sinclair, CEO of London City Airport, said:
“Just as we did during the pandemic, we’re using the Community Fund to benefit local community initiatives that need it most. We hope these grants will make a noticeable difference to local organisations that are vital for the prosperity of East London.”
Notes to Editors
- The London City Airport Community Fund is a registered charity (no.1182642)
- New community trustees have been onboarded for 2022.The Board of Trustees comprises:
- Duncan Alexander, London City Airport Consultative Committee (Independent Chair)
- Councillor Kam Rai, Deputy Leader of Redbridge Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Leisure and Culture
- Raina Gee, Redbridge, Youth Involvement Worker
- Francesca Pacifico, Head of Sustainability, London City Airport
- Simon Shinn, Assistant Director of Operations, Netjets
- Further information on the Community Fund is available at:
https://www.londoncityairport.com/corporate/responsible-growth/community-fund/ - The Community Fund was first launched in 2019 and provides £75,000 funding annually to support local charities and organisations that represent inclusive and diverse communities across East London.
- Applications are invited twice per year and considered by a Board of Trustees comprised of representatives from London City Airport and the local community, alongside an independent chair. 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.
- Further information on the 13 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/ supporting.
Newham
West Silvertown Village Community Foundation
This project will support West Silvertown residents to plan and deliver community events and activities celebrating the range of cultures in the Royal Docks. The events will range from large events attracting up to 500 people, to small events for families with small children. They will happen throughout the year to provide several moments to look forward to, and so communities can mark celebrations they care about – including religious festivals Diwali, Christmas, and Eid. The events will also act as an introduction to other community activities – so people can find out about the wealth of things already going on in the community and find ways to join in with them.
Powerhouse for Women
Powerhouse for Women is a women’s only charity based in Newham, East London which aims to empower women with learning disabilities in the borough. It was originally set up as a refuge in 1995 and later it was registered with the Charity Commission. Powerhouse is the only organisation in Newham offering services specifically for women with learning disabilities.
Many of the women who attend have experienced abuse and harassment and are socially isolated. It aims to provide community, support and opportunities through group activities and trips. The objectives of the organisation are to support the women’s independence and choice; to enable peer support and to empower women with learning disabilities to speak up about issues that are important to them. Project Let’s Get Outdoors is an ambitious yearlong project providing opportunities to do physical activities, learning new skills and information and trips in the community in the areas of sports and environmental awareness.
Museum of Happiness
Museum of Happiness is a grass-roots not-for-profit social enterprise; which shares the science and art of sustainable happiness in accessible, reflective, and playful ways, through events; training; workshops and interactive experiences. We aim to be actively engaged in the community through the Well Bean Cafe, where we are based, next to the University of East London.
Making Friends with Your Mind and Community Led Pop-Up Museum of Happiness- a 10-week programme to support mental health, resilience and build stronger communities. Our aim is to make mental health, wellbeing, and community connection accessible to people of all walks of life in the local area – with no financial barriers.
Richard House
Richard House supports 300 seriously ill children and their families across East London. Our wide range of free palliative and holistic high-quality care encompasses clinical, emotional, and social needs of each individual family. We provide a supportive space and bespoke care for their children whenever required, for as long as needed. We ensure the whole family feels supported and heard by running support groups and counselling sessions. We offer respite care at the hospice or in the family home and organise family days to create long lasting positive memories.
Richard House offers a beacon of light to families where they are affected by their child’s life limiting diagnosis. BASE (Body and Soul Education) Therapy addresses our children’s needs from social to cultural, emotional to spiritual in an immersive, stimulating, and supportive environment. Many of our children are non-verbal, which makes it challenging for them to communicate their emotions or needs. Through exploration, creation and play, BASE allows children to learn and develop potentially life-changing techniques in which to communicate with the world around them and unlock their full potential.
Bexley
Age UK Bexley
Age UK Bexley is a local charity based in the borough of Bexley supporting older people in the local community. Although we are affiliated to Age UK National and use their branding etc, we are an independent charity and have our own board of Trustees, this means that we are responsible for our own finances and fundraising.
We offer a number of local services which include our Men in Sheds project, Welfare Benefits support, a Nail cutting service, our Information Gateway telephone helpline, A Day centre for people who have care needs, one to one Befriending for people who are housebound and isolated and Befriending Cafes where older people can come together and make new friends to prevent isolation. Our services are supported by a small staff team and a large team of 90 active volunteers.
Following the Covid 19 pandemic we have found that a lot of older people had become very isolated and this was affecting their mental health. As a result we have developed our Befriending Café offer.
Waltham Forest
Salaam Peace
We deliver sports and education programmes across Waltham Forest, Hackney, Haringey and Newham, engaging 1250 people per week (70% BAME). We want to make a difference and have a proven track-record of doing so. Our ability to use sport and education to tackle social issues has led to us winning over 25 awards in our 12-year history, including: South England Prestige Award- Social Impact Project of the Year 2021, Mayor of London Sports Unites Award 2019, British Sports Awards- Sport for Social Change 2019.
We will deliver a weekly 90-minute football session for BAME young people aged 13-16 (approximately 25 participants), across 40 weeks at Edinburgh Primary School in Waltham Forest (E17 8QR). Sessions are led by qualified and experienced coaches from the Salaam Peace team, with sessions consisting of the following: Technical drills, Teambuilding activities, Match-play and competitions, talking circles about topics including but not limited to, leadership, well-being, current affairs, and resilience. In addition will also deliver football activator coaching session for participants
Tower Hamlets
The Bromley by Bow Centre
Our purpose is to enable our community to thrive. People of all ages, genders, nationalities, faiths and backgrounds use our services and the Centre’s garden, park and café. Our warm welcome is, for many, the gateway to accessing help for complex needs for the first time.
We focus on empowering the most vulnerable in our community. Individuals and families facing: Poverty, chronic and acute mental and physical health conditions, barriers to integration, equality and opportunity, social isolation and loneliness, need for regular day care resulting from neurodiversity or / and physical disabilities.
This project is an off-site day trip for adults in two of our programmes: social care (adults needing day care due to disabilities) and over 50s art group (supporting adults experiencing social isolation and mental health challenges) through regular art therapy and social interactions.
Trapped in Zone One
Trapped in Zone One is a BME-led creative organisation based in Tower Hamlets. Our aim is to continue our engagement work by working with communities to improve the health and wellbeing of residents in Tower Hamlets through creative practices in the borough, via a diverse range of partnerships with local organisations and individuals.
Our project proposal is to work with residents in Tower Hamlets by providing free to access physical activity sessions for females aged 18+ in Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs with weekly walking sessions to improve their wellbeing, as well exploring their creative side with a sketching session of their neighbourhood.
Our proposal for this fund would cover 12-weeks from August to October 2023, working with the local community in delivering this Summertime project which will be accessible to females from outreach engagement prior to starting.
Island House Community Centre
Our mission is to support and equip local people, especially the disadvantaged and marginalised, to live healthy and fulfilling lives within a vibrant and thriving local community. Addressing the emotional, physical, social, and spiritual needs of those of all faiths and none, we seek to identify gaps in service provision and make partnerships to extend our impact and build a strong, healthy community. Roughly 300 people used the centre every week before the pandemic and numbers are increasing again as we seek to address loneliness and disadvantage, effectively improving the lives and prospects of our beneficiaries. Our work is especially valuable during the current cost-of-living crisis, which is the top priority in Tower Hamlets’ current Strategic Plan.
Most jobs require some level of digital skills, and we believe it’s very important to support people who are fearful of technology or feel excluded to gain skills, confidence, and access more opportunities. Our SKILLS project delivers a selection of language, employability, and computer training to disadvantaged local people, often non-English speaking BME women. This has been very effective in moving people along the path towards employment, and also improving their independence and enjoyment of lives better engaged in the community and workplace.
Redbridge
One Place East
One Place East (OPE) is a user led charity for Deaf and Disabled people, those with lived experience of mental ill-health, people with a reduced intellectual ability and/or cognitive impairment such as a learning disability, Autism, Asperger’s, and people with sensory and physical impairments. We also support carers, and people with dementia. So, residents are fully involved in running the charity and delivering our activities through creative peer and user-led activities.
People with dementia and their carers will be empowered to develop and lead this new group by deciding the programme of activities, entertainment etc. OPE brings 25 years of development and community outreach to this programme. This can help provide a much-needed resource for the local community and take pressure off underfunded services.
Hackney
Beis Brucha
Beis Brucha provides supported residential care for disadvantaged, vulnerable women post-birth, particularly those contending with physical disabilities, domestic abuse, mental health issues & post-natal depression. We provide counselling, group therapy, one to one support with breastfeeding and childcare, educational courses promoting physical and emotional wellbeing and social drop ins to reduce social isolation and help prevent PND. We want to hire an exercise instructor who is able to do exercise sessions specifically for disadvantaged, vulnerable post-partum women to conduct weekly classes as this is vital for their emotional and physical health.
According to the comprehensive Hackney Health Needs assessment preventative healthcare, such as exercise is significantly below average. It is also noted in several studies the positive effect exercise has on mood and mental health, and this is therefore even more vital to the community. The aim of our project is to greatly improve physical and mental health and wellbeing through targeted exercise sessions for disadvantaged postpartum women.
Immediate Theatre
We are seeking support for holiday activity in August 2023, as part of our successful Estate-based Youth Theatre (EbYT) programme. Established in 1998, EbYT uses drama to support the journey of disadvantaged young people from being at high risk of disengagement and social isolation to participating in activities that build skills and self-esteem and raise aspirations. Our Exposure summer holiday programme will bring together 25 young people aged 12 to 18 (25 for disabled young people) from across our EbYTs to explore a topic about which they feel passionately, and to collectively create a play for performance as the culmination of the two-week programme.
This year, our young people have chosen to explore how different generations respond to gentrification, community, and identity. By interviewing a range of people, including their own family members about their experiences and memories of living and working in Hackney, they will create a performance with the working title of We Are Not The Same. Other local youth groups, family and friends will be invited to the two performances to be staged at The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick. Audiences sizes are estimated at 200.
Helping Disabilities Trust
Helping Disabilities Trust was established to support children and young people with disabilities in London through the free loan of specialised toys and equipment. Children with disabilities lead very challenging lives. Many suffer from chronic pain and have trouble with the most basic daily tasks. They ache to take part in the same activities and lifestyles as others, but their disabilities hold them back and make social integration a challenge.
At Helping Disabilities, we are proud to support these children and young people by providing free loan of expensive, specialised equipment such as full support swings, adapted trikes and sensory equipment, that they would otherwise be unable to access. These items, and many more specialised aids are designed to improve and enhance the lives of young people with disabilities, helping them to become as independent as possible and to reach their utmost potential.
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Source: London City Airport
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