London City Airport Community Fund supports 15 East London local groups and community organisations with £41,580 funding

London, UK, 2022-Oct-17 — /Travel PR News/ — London City Airport has announced the successful applicants to the latest round of grants in 2022 from the airport’s £75,000 Community Fund.

In total, £41,580 of funding has been awarded to 15 local groups and community organisations covering six East London boroughs including Newham, Hackney, Lewisham, City of London, Tower Hamlets and Barking and Dagenham. Each successful applicant will receive grants of up to £3,000 to enable significant and positive change in their local communities.

Successful grantees that have secured funding in this latest round include Newham All Star Sports Academy, who are working with young girls in Newham and neighbouring boroughs to support with mental health and wellbeing through sport, plus Blind in Business, based in the City of London who work with surrounding East London Boroughs to support blind beneficiaries by raising aspirations and getting them into employment.

Jago Streete-Campbell, Director of Basketball Operations at Team Elite Basketball Club said:

“We are thrilled to be successful in receiving funding for our project. The London City Airport Community Fund grant is going to make a significant impact to the young people from disadvantaged communities. This grant will give us the opportunity to provide more accessible sessions in the community for boys and girls ages 11-15, as well as volunteer opportunities for young adults ages 16-24.”

Commenting on the award, Dan Mitchell – Director of Blind in Business said:

“Blind in Business welcomes the kind donation from London City Airport to train blind children in career planning, giving them confidence to think of their future careers.”

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

Since launching the fund in 2019, London City Airport’s Community Fund is delighted to have awarded grants totalling more than £300k to 100+ local charities and not-for-profit organisations. London City Airport’s Community Fund has also commissioned a video that highlights the great work the successful awardees have been able to achieve with the funding and promotes the fund widely to encourage local organisations to apply.

Another recipient, XLP, works with marginalised, excluded and disadvantaged young people to help them reach their potential in Newham, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Tim Sledge, Director of Fundraising at XLP said:

“XLP is thrilled to have been awarded a grant from London City Airport’s Community Fund. We work with thousands of disadvantaged young Londoners who experience a lot of turbulence in their lives. This grant will help more young people take-off and soar to the heights and reach their potential by providing them experiences they have never had before.”

Made in Hackney, who were another recipient, will run cookery classes to support the local community eat healthier, affordable meals.

Fran Humber, Development Manager at Made in Hackney commented:

“London City Airport’s funding will be critical for us to provide 1:1 affordable and healthy eating advice and to those managing health issues. This is even more important during the cost-of-living crisis, where many people are struggling to feed themselves well.”

The funding comes at a critical time for local community organisations  surrounding the airport as East Londoners continue to recover from the effect of the pandemic, amidst a cost of living crisis.

The grants will provide a financial boost to these local community organisations working to support people in the community, particularly those affected by the cost of living crisis and the pandemic, covering areas such as employment; training for young people, women and the elderly; wellbeing, physical and mental health ; food poverty and biodiversity.

The 15 local community groups receiving this latest round of funding are based in or are active in the following London boroughs: Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Hackney, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets, as well as Blind in Business who are working with beneficiaries from the following boroughs Newham, Greenwich and Lewisham.

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)
• Tessa Simpson, Head of Environment and Technical Operations
• Liam McKay, Director of Corporate Affairs
• Phil Bird, Head of Air Operations, British Airways City Flyer
• Councillor Kam Rai, Deputy Leader of Redbridge Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Leisure and Culture
• Raina Gee, Redbridge, Youth Involvement Worker

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

Interested parties are invited to apply to the next round of grants, with the application window due to close February 2022. Prospective applicants should contact Community.Fund@londoncityairport.com with any queries or questions.

Applications to the latest funding round closed on 8th July 2022 and the Board of Trustees considered all applications from local groups and charitable organisations.

A judging panel reviewed the applications and scored them against a consistent set of 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

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 £3000 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 15 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 

Newham All Star Sports Academy (NASSA)

The Covid-19 pandemic caused long-term damage to the mental health of young people in Newham. In many cases, they have become more inward-looking and less confident, particularly young women.

NASSA will run 12-weeks of two-hour basketball sessions for 40 local young women aged 14-16 whose mental health, confidence and ambitions have been adversely affected by Covid-19. Basketball skills/ fitness sessions will improve both their physical and mental health. They will also benefit from mentoring support and the opportunity to gain qualifications in basketball officiating.

Anna Fiorentini Performing Arts School

This project will not only provide professional performance training for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and the BAME community  but support them engaging with a variety of audiences, not just their peers. It will cultivate cognitive stimulation and broaden social circles in our young performers. It will contribute to nurturing talent and raising aspirations of East End children, helping improve their confidence, overcome anxiety and support them to reach their full potential.

Our Kids’ Performance Troupe, based in the East End, is made up of 25 children aged 11 – 17, from across Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Greenwich. A large percentage of our beneficiaries are from under-represented groups and the BAME community. The Troupe will rehearse routines to entertain over 65-year-olds and will deliver up to 12 performances at a variety of care homes, hospices, hospitals and community events: primarily with residents suffering from dementia. Care homes will be based in Newham,  Tower Hamlets and Hackney.

Calm Minds-UK

This new initiative came about because of the increased demand from the elderly in the community who are struggling to access many services that are only provided via online. The funding is for the purposes of contributing to our Digital Support Hub for elderly people in the community and other vulnerable individuals, particularly people who have a refugee or migrant background from ethnic minority groups who are disadvantaged from accessing mainstream online services.

The Magpie Project

The Magpie Project supports children under five and their mothers who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness in Newham and surrounding boroughs. We run twice weekly stay-and-play sessions where mums can gain practical, material and social support and  engage with professionals at organisations such as Shelter, London Black Women’s Project, Health Visitors and Family Support Workers, to address the issues they face.

Amid the crisis of their housing situation, we know that many mothers and their children need to have fun, experience new things and feel they are living a life that is not defined by their homelessness. We also know that music can have important developmental benefits for young children. For example, singing is increasingly recognised as an important way to build healthy attachments with new babies, especially for those where attachment might be compromised by other circumstances and can improve mental health and wellbeing for parents too. Singing regularly with your baby is a proven way to speed recovery from post-natal depression.

Barking and Dagenham

Early Years Cocoon CIC

‘The Village’ is about bringing families together, engaging them in learning opportunities, and providing a space for them to support each other. It is an opportunity for families to reflect on parenting together, feel connected, be creative, think collectively, ask questions, receive support, swap items and much more. In addition, following what we have been doing at other playgroup sessions, we will bring special guests and local organisations to promote their services too. This approach has worked very well in the previous year, helping to build a bridge between the families and the services available to them, which are not always known to them.

City of London – supporting beneficiaries in Newham, Greenwich and Lewisham

XLP

XLP is about creating positive futures for young people growing up on inner-city estates in London, struggling with daily issues such as family breakdown, unemployment and educational failure, and living in areas that experience high levels of anti-social behaviour and gang violence. Every year XLP helps thousands of young people recognise their full potential. We believe positive, long-term relationships can restore a young person’s trust in people, nurture the belief that things can change and encourage them to set positive goals and work hard to achieve them.

Throughout the year, we take young people on trips to summer camps. Helping these young people address their problems and overcome obstacles helps improve their chances to succeed in school, reduce their likelihood of involvement in antisocial behaviour and engage positively in their local communities.

Hackney

Blind in Business

We wish to train blind and sight impaired children aged 13-16 in career planning and raising their aspirations and confidence to think about employment in all industries within London. They will also meet blind and sight impaired people who work in the areas London City Airport funds, therefore giving a ‘local’ approach to this work.

The main aim is to show blind and sight impaired young people what they can progress towards after school. For example, apprenticeship schemes, school leaver schemes, further education, training or progression towards a good job in all industries. By meeting blind and sight impaired people employed in various jobs, these youngsters will learn what they can progress towards, with a focus on employment and progression through education and skills training, all of which will develop a career plan for each child.

This work will improve the local community by mixing blind and sight impaired young people into a sighted society, showing people what they can do, helping people to escape the trap of state benefits and contributing to local employment and showing sighted employers that young sight impaired people can work just as well as their sighted peers.

Support for All

Combi Creatives programme will connect 70 young people aged 7-13 years and 70 elderly people through an intergenerational programme to explore and appreciate creative and visual arts. Combi Creatives programme will connect young people with elderly community members to help expose, inspire and connect the community and instil an appreciation for the elderly generation.

The combination of intergenerational activities will help different age groups relate and value one another – embracing social equality ideas and increasing empathy. The programme will offer a combined range of creative arts initiatives over 38-weeks including glass fusion, art using natural resources, crafting, crocheting and 3-D modelling construction. We will facilitate weekly sessions for 1½ – 2 hours each session.

Combi Creatives programme will create age friendly communities where young people value their elders, whilst the elderly can contribute  their lifelong learnings. Combi Creatives will also engage young people who can often be lonely too. Young people with little or no family support will benefit from an adopted grandparent who will become a part of their lives. Making this vital social connection and newly formed relationship will empower young people to lead a more valued life.

Ezra Umarpeh

Ezra Umarpeh, established as a registered charity in 1996, provides hope, light and security for the disabled. We are committed to empower patients to take control of their lives by providing an environment that fulfils all their health needs.

Our ‘Out and About’ project is doing just that, helping disabled children explore the world. We are working on purchasing more wheelchairs, which will be part of our free-loan library. 95% of our users are from low-income families, so patients buying wheelchairs for themselves is often not an option, due to the cost. Our current stock of wheelchairs doesn’t suffice for the huge demand. We find ourselves turning down approximately five wheelchair-requests a week due to our limited stock. Yet at Ezra Umarpeh, we place our patients at the heart of what we do and we are driven to fulfil every disabled child’s needs. We are determined to purchase 18 wheelchairs, which will enable many more children to be ‘Out and About’.

Get Set Girls

Our beneficiaries suffer from low self-esteem, confidence, motivation and lack opportunities to access training, leisure and enjoyment.

Covid-19 has exacerbated these and adversely affected their mental health.  Due to reduced incomes and increased stress, parents are also finding it harder to provide nutritious meals. This causes teens to have decreased optimism, happiness levels and lack aspirations to learn and achieve. Their social isolation and lack of social skills have also worsened, mental health has been affected by stress and being confined with large families in small accommodation, resulting in reduced aspirations and training opportunities.

Since noting this through our monitoring and evaluation, we have verified the importance of providing mental health support for our beneficiaries. We would therefore like to provide two more support workers providing one-to-one support for young people through this difficult time with this funding. We also want to set-up monthly workshops giving beneficiaries tools and techniques to remain motivated and empowered throughout this difficult period so that they emerge resilient and with improved mental health.

Made In Hackney

Made In Hackney has been successfully running cookery classes to help the local community to eat healthier, more affordable meals since 2012. We have helped thousands of individuals change their eating habits through our carefully curated classes and courses. Our work has helped people reverse the onset of Type 2 Diabetes, reduce the symptoms of IBS, menopause and improve physical and mental wellbeing.

Across all our work we prioritise those suffering from health inequalities such as young people in care, young carers, people with learning difficulties, low-income families and individuals, pensioners, people in the BAME community and many other wonderful communities.

Over the last 18 months we have piloted a new 1:1 service that connects our trained food mentors with community members via weekly telephone, online or in-person sessions. Our 1:1 service aims to fill an identified gap in support for those that have higher initial barriers in engaging with our work (e.g. fear of group situations, complex home lives etc.), helping them to overcome these initial issues through more personalised support.

Lewisham

Stillness Junior School

The aim is to create a permanent, sustainable Eco Garden in the school grounds, for outdoor learning, play and to embed a culture of environmentalism. The grounds currently lack a natural space and there is no shade or seating. All play areas are tarmacked. The Garden will provide 20 trees for shade and fruit; four raised beds for growing food; pollinator meadows; an outdoor classroom and the regeneration of an abandoned pond into a biodiverse wildlife habitat.

Pupils have expressed a need for a quiet, natural space within the school. The existing play area is dominated by loud, fast-moving games, which can be overwhelming for some children, particularly those with special needs. The garden will be separated from this ‘noisy zone’ by low fencing, trees and traffic calming entrances. Soundscapes such as a mini waterfall, rustling leaves and buzzing insects will divert attention and create calmer places to reflect, read and play. Learning in the outdoor classroom will enrich science and art. Topics such as ‘Sow, Grow and Farm’ will be brought to life as children learn how to grow vegetables in the raised beds. A new student group of ‘Eco Warriors’ is driving environmental projects within the school, and the nature garden is an ideal springboard to channel their passion and empower them and their peers to make a tangible difference to their natural world.

Tower Hamlets

Team Elite Basketball Club

Our aim is to provide an outlet for disadvantaged youth in the East London Area we want to target those young people who are disengaged in school and get them back into education. Team Elite provides a basketball provision for young people aged 11-15, we help these young people gain experience and qualifications on accredited courses to become umpires, referees and basketball coaches. We plan to have these young leaders going into local primary schools once qualified to give back to the community.

We also aim to provide a basketball provision for those who are good enough to play for a team outside of school and would like to play competitively with weekly games and community sessions in the heart of East London.

The Poplar Partnership

The funding will be used to support children and families who have been the most affected by the pandemic The children will take a coach to a rural setting in Stansted called Gorsefield in early May, where they stay in a large country house. They take part in a wide range of activities from making a fire, toasting bread, to pond dipping, archery, building a tent from sticks and a sheet. It is an absolutely life changing experience for all children; some of whom have never left Poplar. They come back more mature and confident in themselves. For many, it’s their first time away from home and first meal they have to serve for themselves. It is an amazing opportunity for all children who attend. With this money, all children will be able to attend.

The trip will teach children what life is like after the pandemic away from the pressures of overcrowding, crime and antisocial behaviour. They will be able to enjoy open spaces, discover the countryside and improve the quality of their lives. The children develop in confidence, motivation and their life aspirations. For many children they discover a completely different way of life with new foods, activities and a new outlook on their future. They return as mature and confident children and with this funding; we will be able to facilitate more children having access to greater life experiences.

Dorset Community Association

We want to provide weekly yoga and wellbeing sessions for vulnerable women who are experiencing challenges with their wellbeing and mental health. Most of these women are from minority backgrounds and identify as Bangladeshi, which a Public Health England report (2020) highlights that people of Bangladeshi ethnicity have twice the risk of death from COVID-19 compared to people of White British ethnicity. The majority of the population in Weaver’s Ward Tower Hamlets identify from minority backgrounds with many generations living under one roof, often with pre-existing medical conditions and little to no access to online support services.

Many local families are single-parent households, with women who have caring duties or have been shielding so in the absence of face-to-face interaction, adults and their children by default are isolated. Tower Hamlets Health, Adult and Community Services (2020) have also detailed the rise of unemployment due to Covid with those unemployed  four times more likely to develop anxiety and depression and with unemployment a risk factor for suicide.

The economic downturn and changes to mental health services have had a disproportionate impact on black, Asian and minority ethnic people and mental health risk factors associated with carers, with women typically overrepresented in this area. There are challenges with social interaction, loneliness, lack of food, domestic violence, anxiety, obesity and hopelessness. Without social interaction, advice, guidance and safe spaces to get support there is little development of social skills and personal boundaries are encroached upon. Women are the main caregivers and need spaces to socialise for their wellbeing.

Contact:

Email: media@londoncityairport.com

Source: London City Airport

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