Co-Ownership fund awards £20,000 to community groups across Northern Ireland
By: Co-Ownership
Co-Ownership has selected four community groups from across Northern Ireland to receive a share of its 2022 Community Fund. Co-Ownership has awarded a total of £20,000 across the four groups – Mainstay DRP, Sion Swifts, The Trussell Trust and FareShare NI.
Mark Graham, Chief Executive at Co-Ownership, said, “Our Community Fund is a really important initiative as it supports projects within our communities that have a positive impact on the lives of the people of Northern Ireland. This year we are delighted to help more worthy organisations who all set an example and meet our criteria by helping to regenerate, rebuild, and revitalise neighbourhoods and communities; supporting elderly or disabled people; or providing advice and educational services to promote either financial capability and inclusion, energy efficiency or biodiversity in the community.”
The first group to benefit from this year’s community fund is Mainstay DRP, who provide services to over 150 people with learning disabilities in Downpatrick, the funding is for the ‘Our Wee Garden’ project which aims to help and support service users to achieve independence.
The second recipient of the Fund was Sion Swifts ladies F.C., a women’s football club based in Strabane attracting members from Tyrone, Derry-Londonderry and Donegal. The club makes football accessible to girls and ladies from the age of five and welcomes all ethnicities and backgrounds. The Club will use the funding to enhance its winter programme of events to include health and wellness classes.
The third recipient, The Trussell Trust, is a network of more than 40 food banks including the South Belfast Food Bank which provides emergency support to people locked in poverty, whilst also campaigning for change. The funding will help to support Trussell Trust continue to support households across the province and is particularly important this year as the cost-of-living crisis means more people than before are vulnerable to poverty.
The fourth and final recipient of the Co-Ownership funding is FareShare Northern Ireland, the Homeless Connect project, which is part of the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors and made up of independent organisations. It takes good quality surplus food from the food industry and funnels it to charities and community groups.
In addition to its Community Fund, the team at Co-Ownership choose a charity each year and dedicate its fundraising efforts to it. Its selected charity for 2021/22 was Alzheimer’s Society with the team raising a total of £4,129.17 through a variety of activities such the Belfast marathon relay, raffles and quizzes.
Gillian Lavery, organiser of charity of the year at Co-Ownership said, “We were delighted to work with the Alzheimer’s Society. The charity provides vital support for people living with and affected by dementia throughout Northern Ireland. We are really proud to have surpassed our initial target of £4,000 and commend our team for its continued dedication to fundraising events.”
Linzi Stewart, Community Fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Society in Northern Ireland added, “We are extremely grateful to all at Co-Ownership for their incredible donation of over £4,000 to Alzheimer’s Society.
“There are estimated to be over 22,000 people living with dementia in the Northern Ireland and too many are facing it alone. We want everyone affected by dementia to know that whoever you are, whatever you’re going through, you can turn to Alzheimer’s Society for practical advice, emotional support, and guidance.
“Last year, Alzheimer’s Society services were used over 4.2 million times and people tell us this support is a real lifeline. Thanks to the generous support of fundraisers like Co-Ownership, Alzheimer’s Society can be there as a vital source of support and a powerful force for change for everyone affected by dementia.”