Time to vote for your good cause
TODAY we print the first token to help your favourite community group or charity claim their share of the £10,000 Vernon Jubilee Fund.
Further tokens will be published on August 16 and 23 – with two tokens in the Express on August 30.
The more tokens a group receives, the more funding it will get.
Tokens can be submitted to the charity or community group directly or dropped in at any of the Vernon’s six local branches – in the town centre, Bramhall, Marple, Reddish, Hazel Grove and Poynton.
Since its launch in 2012 the Jubilee Fund will have awarded over £60,000 to more than 70 local charity and community groups.
There are 16 groups vying for your vote – and here we give you a brief summary of what they say they would do with any money they receive:
1. Independent Options
Working to empower people with disabilities since 1977, enabling them to take control of their lives, achieve their aspirations and enjoy life to the full.
“Our children and family centre provides support to children with a disability, or an additional need, and their families. We plan to use the funding to buy two computers so that the children who attend can use them to play games at our groups and to learn vital new skills.” independentoptions. org.uk Independent Options 67 Chester Road Hazel Grove SK7 5PE
2. The Weekend Day Care Centre for Dementia Care
Set up in 1991, the charity provides an informal weekend and bank holiday care facility for people with dementia, and their carers.
“WDC is about to take over The Ada Kay Resource Centre in Bredbury, enabling it to not only expand its current service provision to a seven-day week, but also to provide support services to relatives and carers. Initial estimates of the costs to make the building fit for our use, for example the installation of disabled toilets and a sensory garden, are around £40,000.” weekenddaycentre.com The Weekend Day Centre 8 Owens Farm Drive Offerton SK2 5EA
3. AuKids
Set up by journalist and mum Debby Elley and speech and language therapist Tori Houghton, AuKids was the first parenting magazine for autistic children in the UK providing practical, down-to-earth and lively advice for parents.
“AuKids magazine is a not-for-profit social enterprise and we desperately need more funding to reach more parents. All of our current funds are dedicated to magazine production, leaving little spare to spread the word that AuKids is here to help. Extra funds will allow us to send free copies of the magazine to surgeries, clinics, SureStart centres and schools.” aukids.co.uk AuKids PO Box 259 Cheadle SK8 9BE
4. Stockport Foodbank
Provides emergency support in the form of three-day food parcels to those in the borough who are facing tough times.
“Over 9,000 children in Stockport live within the definition of poverty. It is essential that every young child should have a healthy diet but sadly we know many households where this cannot be afforded. Through this grant the foodbank centres will ensure they have more than sufficient supplies of milk, juices, vegetables, fruit, desserts and other items for the families who are referred to us.” stockport.foodbank.org. uk c/o Hazel Grove Baptist Church Station Street Hazel Grove SK7 4EX
5. The Wellspring
Homeless charity in the centre of Stockport that provides frontline services to support homeless and disadvantaged people, and is open 365 days a year.
“The funds will be used to provide a bespoke street outreach service in Stockport, providing direct support on to the streets, engaging with people who are currently rough sleeping but not accessing any services.” thewellspring.co.uk The Wellspring PO BOX 456 SK1 1YD
6. MedEquip4Kids
Helps improve the health and wellbeing of children and babies in the north of England – including at Stepping Hill - by providing equipment not available from limited NHS resources.
“We would fund Louby Lou at Stepping Hill Hospital for another year. Louby Lou is a ‘magic medic’ who visits the children’s ward and puts a smile on children’s faces.
“Louby Lou is hugely valuable to the children as a hospital experience can be a very disturbing time.” medequip4kids.org.uk MedEquip4Kids 5th Floor 90 Deansgate Manchester M3 2GP
7. Stockport County Community Foundation
Working in partnership with Stockport County Football Club, the charity supports over 20,000 children, adults and senior citizens using sport – and in particular football - to encourage learning and promote healthy lifestyles.
“We provide weekly coaching sessions and monthly football tournaments to over 120 children and adults with a range of physical and learning disabilities and are desperately in need of new equipment including junior and adult teams football kits, training bibs, footballs, wheelchair football, pop-up goals and first aid kits.” scfcfoundation.com Stockport County Community Foundation Edgeley Park Hardcastle Road Edgeley SK3 9DD
8. Friends of St Joseph’s
A voluntary group made up of parents and carers that raises funds to support pupils at St Joseph’s in Stockport town centre.
“We would like to further enhance the facilities in the playground by providing play equipment to provide imaginative, group play and outside learning. Team sports are very difficult because we don’t have proper playground marking/pitches. We can never host any sports competitions and can only play away by travelling to other venues.” st-josephs-pri.stockport. sch.uk/friends-stjosephs St. Josephs Catholic Primary School Etchells Street St Petersgate Sk1 1EF
9. Love Reddish
A community project that looks to serve, care for the community and improve the lives and living conditions of people and families in Reddish.
“The funding will go towards equipment, tools and resources to allow our community teams to continue caring for and serving our great community of Reddish by looking after communal spaces such as Houldsworth Square, community green spaces such as the Love Reddish Community Garden and community buildings, but also families and individuals who may need help and support with various tasks including gardening, decorating and DIY in their homes.” facebook.com/ LoveReddishMCR FreshFire Church Sykes Street Reddish SK5 6AL 10. 1st Hazel Grove Scout Group
Scout group with boys and girls aged from six to 18 including beavers, cubs, scouts and explorers.
“We are raising funds to replace one of our minibuses so we would put any funding we received towards our goal of raising enough money to buy a new or second-hand vehicle.” 1hg.org The Methodist Church Wesley Street Hazel Grove SK7 4JQ
11. Stroke Information
Set up in 2012, Stroke Information helps and supports people in Stockport affected by stroke, including family members and carers.
“We have devised a new project to help stroke survivors - if they are within working age we can hopefully get them back into work; and for those of an older generation back into the community and feeling wanted once again.” strokeinformation.co.uk Suite 4 Landmark House Station Road Cheadle Hulme SK8 7BS
12. Family Art Attack About families reconnecting, taking time out from busy lives to spend two hours a week doing art and craft together – no phones, no computers, just paint glue and glitter and lots of fun and laughter.
“FAA would like to team up with ARC (Art for Recovery) in Reddish for a few sessions to learn new skills. We would like to learn pottery and block printing with established artists at ARC.” 40 Cornwall Crescent Brinnington SK5 8HB
13. Bosden Farm Community Group
The group operates on the Bosden Farm Estate (also known as Bean Leach), around 1,500 homes situated between Offerton and Hazel Grove. Residents come together to organise events in aid of the group and other notfor-profit causes.
“Any funds received will be used towards the cost of a shared community space for the Bosden Farm estate, in the form of a physical building. Such a space would allow for residents to meet and congregate, and for volunteerled services including youth activities to be provided for the community.” bosdenfarm.co.uk 9 Thaxted Drive Bosden Farm SK2 5XH
14. AVRO Heritage Museum
Based at the old Woodford Aerodrome, AVRO Heritage Museum is situated in the old fire station and used by schools and groups to look back at the history of the site when it was used to manufacture aircraft including the Vulcan.
“To improve information boards and obtain new artefacts to display.” avroheritagemuseum.co.uk AVRO Heritage Museum Woodford Aerodrome Chester Road Woodford SK1 7AG
15. Beechwood Cancer Care Centre
Supports patients, families and friends on their journey with cancer, lifelimiting illness and sudden death. The centre on Chelford Grove supports the whole family and is currently helping people affected by the Manchester Arena bombing.
“The money will be used to provide family evenings for children whose parents or siblings have serious illness or have recently died. These evenings allow children to understand that they are not alone.” beechwoodcancercare.org.uk Beechwood Cancer Care Chelford Grove SK3 8LS
16. Stockport Building Preservation Trust
Our objectives are to rescue Stockport’s buildings at risk from neglect, decay and threat of destruction, to respect their past, and respond to their future sustainability for community benefit and enjoyment.
“The Grade II* listed building classed as ‘at risk’ by Historic England is situated in Woodbank Memorial Park. We would use funds to improve facilities, upgrade our display inside the room we use and encourage the community to ‘pop in’, see the state of the building and help us identify what they think it should be used for in the future. Without community support applications for major funding will fail.” stock port building preservationtrust.co.uk c/o Woodbank Hall Woodbank Memorial Park SK1 4JR