Grants given to variety of good causes
Bath Carnival, First Steps Bath and Sporting Family Change are among 12 community groups and charities benefitting from a cash boost.
They are sharing an initial £16,000 tranche of money set aide by the council to support wellness and combat loneliness and obesity in and around the city.
In collaboration with Virgin Care, as part of its contract with Bath Council and the local NHS, the programme funds a number of grants each year and is managed by the Quartet Community Foundation which runs the whole process and tracks outcomes. Within Bath and North East Somerset the list of those who have received money in this round includes:
■■ Bath Carnival gets £2,000 towards workshop costs leading up to the carnival, involving Genesis Trust, Julian House and Wheels for All.
■■ Sporting Family Change gets £1,856 to run a gym fitness project for families in Radstock.
■■ Woodworks Project gets £1,600 for an upholstery tutor to work with service users developing skills and increasing wellbeing.
■■ First Steps Bath gets £1,000 for weekly Rugbytots sessions for young children attending the First Steps community nursery in Twerton for two terms in 2019.
■■ Carers Centre B&NES (Care Network) receives £1,845 for the cost of sports coach and to but Boccia kit.
■■ West of England Rural Network gets £1,300 for a one year project to engage a group of men in a music group aimed at reducing social isolation.
■■ Swan Advice Network receives £1,000 for a six-month pilot to set up monthly socialising sessions, targeting the older, vulnerable and isolated people that use the service.
■■ Keynsham Walking Football Club gets £750 towards club expansion.
■■ Life Project (Bath) receives £1,885 towards the costs of a drop-in group to support parent-carers.
■■ Bath City Football Club Foundation gets £750 for weekly free football sessions in school holidays for children and young people in Twerton.
■■ Nova Sports and Coaching gets £648 for coaching leaders to offer Boccia sessions for adults with learning difficulties.
■■ Make a Move receives £2,000 for the continuation of the Moving for the Mind project.
Quartet’s Philanthropy Executive Claire Wynne Hughes said: “These 12 groups are great examples of the kind of small, local good causes Quartet supports in Bath and North East Somerset. Our Vital Signs research highlighted many of the health and wellbeing challenges faced in the area including high levels of childhood obesity in Twerton and Radstock so we’re so pleased these grants will support groups in their work to promote health and wellbeing in the area.”
Roz Lambert from First Steps Bath said: “We’re so grateful for the Community Wellness fund support that’s enabled additional children to access Rugby Tots at First Steps Twerton. You only have to see the children prepare for their session, you can feel their excitement and joy, to know that this early experience of outdoor exercise will set them up for life.”