£12,000 handed out to Weymouth community groups and good causes
The funding has come from the Town Council
Seven community and voluntary organisations have been awarded grant funding this Christmas from Weymouth Town Council.
The following grants were awarded at the latest Finance and Governance meeting.
The Friendly Food Club were awarded £1,200 to support the delivery of cookery sessions for local residents.
The sessions focus on introducing cooking skills and how to prepare nutritious meals, whilst increasing confidence and sense of wellbeing.
Artwey CIC have received £1,729.52 to support the running of the ‘Open for Art’ project, which will be part of the Dorset Towns of Culture 2025 activities.
This project will enable people to visit local artists at shared exhibition spaces, or in their studios to view work, have discussions and make any required purchases.
The Bridges Patient Participation Group have been awarded £871.50 to support patients to take part in funded cookery sessions over a course of six weeks.
Previously, the Patient Participation Group have held ‘health talks’ which aimed to educate patients about specific medical conditions; with those having attended being invited to enrol on the new cookery course.
The sessions will be supported by volunteers and will aim to provide the skills, confidence and information required to prepare healthy meals.
Mosaic – Supporting Bereaved Children have received £2,100 to provide seven 1-hour counselling sessions to six bereaved young people in Dorset.
Each young person will receive a session tailored to their needs to enable them to express and talk about their emotions. Examples may include walking and crafting.
Re-engage Ltd were awarded £1,944 to fund the development of a new activity group for older residents of Weymouth, which will aim to address issues of loneliness and social isolation amongst those in the population.
This new group will have the further objective of establishing a strong and connected community, whilst having a long-lasting impact on improving the wellbeing of older residents.
Waterside Weymouth Community Forum have been awarded £2,957 to go towards creating a community pantry which will supplement a local foodbank.
There will be a focus on fresh produce, with priorities including to establish a homework club to support food security of those in education.
The grant will work to create a sense of community cohesion and support social inclusion.
Weymouth Foodbank have received £1,940 to help provide an additional bag of Christmas food to supplement the usual provision of tins and packets to all those who use the service.
The grant will enable Weymouth Foodbank to offer items such as Christmas cakes, mince pies, biscuits, children’s selection boxes and chutneys so everybody has the chance to celebrate this season with some festive food.
Cllr David Civil, Chair of Finance and Governance Committee, said:
"Genuinely, it's a pleasure to help local charities and organisations with grant funding to get their projects off the ground, and I look forward to more applications being submitted in the new year. The number of groups looking out for their neighbours really is inspiring.
"As well as the larger grants over £500, groups can also apply for funding for projects up to £500 which can be awarded to support many worthy causes."