Lancashire’s
VitalSigns
Building stronger communities together
OUR THEMES
11 Vital Signs of a strong community
Which issues are important to you?
Arts, culture and heritage make a community a vibrant place to live. An active mix of cultural offerings increases people’ s sense of satisfaction with their environment and community pride.
Education & Learning Lifelong learning and educational achievement affect our ability to participate in a competitive workforce, achieve higher incomes and escape the cycle of poverty.
Employment
Arts, Culture & Heritage
Work is vitally important to a good quality of life, it provides a source of income for individuals and families to sustain themselves and adds to an areas output and productivity.
Healthy Living
Good physical and mental health and wellness improves the quality of individuals’ lives and reduces health care costs. The health status of people depends on good health practices and behaviour, and access to health care services.
Local Economy
Strong and vibrant communities have diverse local economies and a wide variety of options for fulfilling, secure, and well-paid work.
Safety
Environment From the air we breathe to the ground we walk on, a healthy and sustainable environment is an important part of quality of life. A healthy environment is reflective of a healthy community.
Fairness For a community to prosper each individual needs to be treated equally. Far greater progress can be made when everyone can contribute their voice and skills; making our community a better place to live.
Housing & Homelessness Shelter is a basic human need that has to be afforded to all. As a strong community it is our duty to look after the most vulnerable in our society.
Rural Communities Individuals that live in rural areas are at an increased likelihood of feeling lonely, which can lead to poorer health. Let’s make sure everyone feels connected in our community.
Public and personal safety affects the way we socialise and participate in our community. Every member of our community deserves to feel safe.
Strong Communities Participation in civic life contributes to the wellbeing of our community and to our sense of connection to one another. By engaging, we foster leadership that helps build and maintain a vibrant community.
All of the funds and foundations cited in Vital Signs are managed by the Community Foundation on behalf of our donors. 2
Community Foundation Lancashire
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
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Welcome to the 7th Edition of the Community Foundation for Lancashire’s Vital Signs The Community Foundation for Lancashire manages donor funds so they can support local charities and community groups that provide critical and specialist funding to Lancashire’s most vulnerable people. We are one of 46 Community Foundations in the UK and over 1,800 worldwide. Community Foundations worldwide collaborate with families, high net worth individuals, businesses, charitable trusts and the public sector to fund community based solutions, creating social change and improving quality of life. Since we began in 2007, we have distributed in excess of £14 million to the local community supporting hundreds of groups and thousands of people. The Community Foundation’s endowment fund stands at over £18 million, an investment that will continuously generate funding for future generations to benefit from. As part of our bespoke service, we spend time understanding our donors’ charitable aims and provide advice to direct their giving using research and experience of need, ensuring funds make the most impact possible. To complement this detailed research we produce Vital Signs, an annual community check-up that reviews the overall vitality of our region and considers our impact through grant making. To improve our knowledge, we asked residents of Lancashire to give their thoughts and opinions about their quality of life. The results unveiled a fantastic sense of belonging and generosity but also highlighted the difficulties and hardship that many residents face, such as limited access to education and poor mental wellbeing. In the last financial year, the Community Foundation has worked hard to award over £726,000 through 194 grants. With the help of our donors we have been able to impact and improve 45,000 peoples lives. Some of whom you will become familiar with whilst reading this year’s Vital Signs as this year we have included interviews with individuals who have benefitted from funded projects. As with previous years, demand for funding outweighed supply. In Lancashire we were unable to fund over 45% of all the applications we received. Each application we cannot support is potentially a missed opportunity to address a hidden need in the local community. As long as disadvantage continues to exist in our community our work is not done. I would like to end by saying a huge thank you to everyone involved in improving the lives of people across Lancashire. Without you the work we do would not be possible.
Rae Brooke Chief Executive
Quality of life in Lancashire
Residents gave us their thoughts and opinions about the quality of life in their community
Let’s Celebrate Quality of life in Lancashire
1 = poor
5 = Excellent
None of the respondents rated their overall quality of life as poor
8%
21%
49%
22%
0
9
25
57
26
1
2
3
4
5
22%
of respondents strongly agree that in general they would describe themselves as happy
85% of respondents feel like they belong in their community
75% of respondents had donated money to charity within the last month
4
Community Foundation Lancashire
70%
of respondents agreed that they were happy in their job and felt satisfied with their work
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
5
Where we need to improve
32%
66%
13.5%
24.5%
44%
5%
28%
21%
9.5%
of respondents would not rate their sense of mental wellbeing as HIGH
of respondents did not feel like there is plenty of arts and culture facilities and events on offer in their area
of respondents did not feel like they had access to the education they needed to progress
of respondents did not feel like they had the opportunities to achieve what they want in life
of respondents had seen a rough sleeper within the last week
of respondents had seen or were a victim of criminal activity within the last year
of respondents did not feel safe where they live
of respondents often felt lonely
of respondents often felt discriminated against because of their gender, sexual orientation, race, culture, religion or class
Grants awarded by theme
£9,441
£64,211
Arts, Culture and Heritage
£5,769
£34,226
Environment
£24,238
Rural Communities
£6,309
Equality (Fairness)
£165,302
Local Economy
Safety
£205,128
Health and Wellbeing
Strong Communities
£100,432
Housing and Homelessness
£111,302.18
Education
Grants awarded by size 86 63
21
18
Up to £900
6
£901 - £2000
Community Foundation Lancashire
£2,001 - £5000
£5,001 - £15,000
2
4
£15,001 - £25,000
£25,001 +
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Investment in Local Communities Total grants awarded
£726,352
£3,744 Grants awarded 194 Approximately 45,000 people benefitted Average grant size
Blackburn with Darwen £115,915 Blackpool £103,893
Lancaster
Burnley £82,654 Chorley £21,155 Ribble Valley
Fylde £54,836
Wyre Pendle
Hyndburn £52,736 Lancaster £53,657 Pendle £34,491
Blackpool Preston Fylde
Hyndburn South Ribble
Rossendale
Preston £15,315
Blackburn with Darwen Chorley
Ribble Valley £68,358 Rossendale £46,120 South Ribble £59,990 West Lancashire £16,682 Wyre £550
Burnley
West Lancashire
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CHARITY HIGHLIGHT
Pennine Lancashire Community Farm Through its eight community growing sites, Pennine Lancashire Community Farm promotes social inclusion, community cohesion, sustainability and education. Based in the urban and highly deprived areas across Burnley, Pendle and Hyndburn, the community farm sites offer their diverse communities an opportunity to come together and learn from one another whilst spending time outdoors exercising.
To achieve this the group run projects that target BAMER (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee) communities, out of work individuals, people with mental health issues, young offenders, adults recovering from substance abuse, people who are overweight and adults with disabilities.
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Community Foundation Lancashire
Watch our video
Vital Signs
Themes
Strong Communities Health & Wellbeing Environment Education & Learning Safety
Community
Need
Every pound invested in parks and nature reserves contributes £30 towards health and wellbeing benefits and £23 towards crime reduction and community safety
Research by the Land Trust shows that over 75% of people feel green spaces bring communities closer together
The Burnley riots in June 2001 saw Burnley town in flames as inter-racial violence erupted with attacks on cars, homes and shops causing an estimated £1 million worth of damage
Almost 90% of the people taking part in a study by Mind said that doing physical exercise outdoors in a natural environment was either important or very important in determining how they felt
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Meet James (Community Leader) “Pennine Community Farm came about in 2002. In 2001, Burnley had some disturbances that resulted in conflict between different cultures and groups. The local community came up with the idea to use the outdoor space and create a community farm to bring people together. When I joined in 2009 we literally had a tiny piece of garden, now we are operational on 8 sites, our largest site is five acres in size. We have gone from engaging 30 to 40 individuals per year to engaging over 1,000 individuals from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures and circumstances per year. A challenge for the organisation is as we keep growing we are becoming more dependent on volunteers. Last year alone we registered 27,000 hours of volunteering. We are extremely fortunate and lucky to have them but alongside those volunteer hours you
Meet John (Beneficiary)
“I got involved with this charity through the doctor. I had gone through a marriage break up and was feeling sorry for myself but when I came to this place and saw all the people that have learning difficulties and stuff like that, it made me push myself. Coming here helps me
do need more staff to facilitate, enable and support and that means funding. Funding is an ongoing challenge for every organisation up and down the land. For me, the Community Foundation is absolutely key because they as an organisation can go out there and encourage different organisations to put money into the charity sector. So where sometimes it is difficult for us due to the limitations of resources, the Community Foundation enables the money to be passed on to the small charity foundations. Without the work of the Community Foundation and us having access to that sort of funding, we can’t exist.”
meet all different kinds of people and to see that they all have different kinds of problems. I thought I had problems but I had no problems in comparison. If this service didn’t exist I would be sat at home doing nothing, sat around watching the square box all day. Coming here has helped me grow in a way and I don’t feel sorry for myself anymore, which is good.”
Community
Investment This year, to highlight our long term impact we decided to select a group that we’ve supported over many years. Over the years, the Community Farm has received several larger grants of £10,000+. In 2016, £10,000 was awarded to continue the farm’s Step programme, which covered a range of topics based around horticulture and the outdoors, including rustic furniture making, landscape gardening and traditional skills for hard to reach communities and people with anxiety. In 2017, the farm received £22,837 from the New Progress Housing Fund to plan and build a new site in Leyland. The group’s volunteers were heavily involved in the project management and physical build. The United Utilities Community Fund awarded £18,671 that same year so the group could establish its Step programme and several other gardening projects at the Leyland site.
Supported with
5 Grants Total Funding
£61,308
Supported by Meet Reba (Beneficiary) “I was born in India and all around here is so different, all the nature, I love it around here, I come here every day if I can. Nowadays there are too many people using their mobile phones and not enough conversations so I come here to have different conversations. I like everything about here, especially the people who come. But also seeing things grow gives me so much happiness, they are like children to you, you are nurturing them and they are growing.”
Christal Foundation CFL Wellbeing Fund New Progress Housing United Utilities Community Fund W O Street Foundation
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FOCUS GROUP
Watch our video
Just Good Friends
Vital Signs
Themes
Strong Communities Rural Communities Health & Wellbeing
Community
Need
Established in 2012, Just Good Friends utilises the benefits of companionship to combat social isolation and loneliness. The registered charity runs a programme of activities and events six days a week, which give people an opportunity to come together who would have otherwise been alone. The group is based in Lytham St Annes and is open to all ages but the majority of users are older people.
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Community Foundation Lancashire
The coastal and rural areas of North Lancashire have the highest levels of social isolation and loneliness in Lancashire, with 7% of all Fylde households estimated to be socially isolated, including 9% of all households in Lytham St Annes
Individuals who are socially isolated are between two and five times more likely than those who have strong social ties to die prematurely
One-to-one interventions achieve good outcomes, but group interventions provide the greatest chance of reducing social isolation
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Helen (Beneficiary) “I am on my own in the world and Just Good Friends is my big family. I used to be a carer for my mum and then she died at 91 so I moved into a flat. I felt so isolated and lonely. Here they make you feel welcome, it’s like a home from home. I want Just Good Friends to carry on forever, I don’t want it to fizzle out, I want it forever. Without this service life would be horrible, I wouldn’t visit all the different places I do and I wouldn’t have met all these new people, I wouldn’t have friends, it’d be horrible”
Mary (Beneficiary) “An awful lot of people come just after they have been widowed and you don’t know what to do with yourself. You have been a pair for years and years and then you’re just on your own. I can remember just feeling trapped and panicked but as soon as I’d come here it gave me purpose, it makes a heck of a difference.”
Bernard (Beneficiary) “I moved up here in 1976, I did 25 years in the Royal Air Force and at the end I worked in Aerospace. Sadly, I lost my wife in April this year, immediately I came here and I can’t speak highly enough of the ladies and the friends I’ve met. This is my rock at the moment. There is only one day of the week when there is not something on and that is a Monday, other than that there is something on every other day. Without Just Good Friends I would still be in my night clothes now, you know why get dressed?”
Hazel (Beneficiary) “I am quite a busy lady with my church, I wanted somewhere where I wasn’t really involved and having to organise things. I wanted somewhere where I could sit back and enjoy it and I certainly do here. I have met some lovely friends.”
Community
Investment In 2018/19 Just Good Friends received £17,450 from the Preston New Road Community Benefit Fund. The funding was used to expand Just Good Friends’ provision of case workers. As people who are socially isolated are notoriously hard to reach, Just Good Friends places its case workers in various doctors’ surgeries across the local area. It’s common for people who are isolated to visit their GP due to the health issues loneliness causes. The expansion of Just Good Friends’ case workers increases the reach of the group and means more people in the community who are suffering from isolation and loneliness can be supported. The United Utilities Community Fund awarded a grant of £6,716 towards Just Good Friends’ core costs, ensuring that the group remains sustainable for years to come and can continue to improve the lives of those who are isolated.
Supported with
5 Grants Total Funding
£33,006
Supported by Preston New Road Community
“Bev and the whole volunteer team is what makes this place unique, they need the support because they are running out of money and are finding it difficult, Bev gives her life to us.”
Benefit Fund United Utilities Community Fund CFL Wellbeing Fund John Laing Charitable Trust
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BENEFICIARY INTERVIEW
Vital Signs
Themes
Health & Wellbeing Strong Communities Education & Learning Fairness Safety
Community
Need
Research shows that volunteering decreases mortality and improves self-rated health, mental health and life satisfaction
In 2017/18 UR Potential recruited 129 young people to take part in community social action
There is an estimated population of 12,845 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGB&T) people in Fylde and Wyre
LGBT people face a higher risk of poor mental health, alcohol and drug misuse, eating disorders and attempted suicide than heterosexual people
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Community Foundation Lancashire
UR P
Established in 2010, UR Potential is a not for profit organisation based in Blackpool. The multiservice organisation splits its work into four areas: volunteering, training, youth & community and research & consultancy. UR Potential builds resilience and character by giving young people the confidence and life skills they need to live, learn, work and achieve through the medium of performance and operational responsibility.
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Watch our video
Potential Meet April (Community Leader)
“With the majority of our young people, we always say you get out as much as you put in. Nicola has been with us for seven years now and we’ve seen her grow and develop over this period, 12 months ago because of her anxiety Nicola wouldn’t have been able to do this interview. I was a volunteer myself when I started and now we are training Nicola to be a volunteer youth worker, to give her different responsibilities and develop leadership skills. Nicola has changed her career path and now wants to go into youth work or working with young people. So seeing that and the progression in the way the young people grow, moving onto university when they thought a year ago they’d never go, I think that is really positive.”
Community
Investment Last year, UR Potential received £9,988.00 from the Lancashire Women’s Fund. Funding was used to create the Girls Matter project, a 12-month project that focused on women and girls’ safety. The project included self-defence, ‘stay safe’ training and activities that focused on girls’ wellbeing and the importance of a healthy mind. This project was a result of feedback from existing members who didn’t feel safe in their local area.
Supported with
Meet Nicola (Beneficiary)
7 Grants
“When I first came I joined through Blackpool Youth Council where we talked about what we would change in Blackpool and what we needed to change, from this we had different events going on, different debates. After that I started doing more with UR Potential and got involved with everything else.
Total Funding
I’m a young carer for my Mum and coming to UR Potential helps because I can come and take respites and speak to people about being a carer that actually listen and understand what you are going through.
#iwill Fund
I’m involved with lots of different projects and events including the Girls Matter Project which teaches self-defence and mental resilience and has really helped my confidence, my anxiety and I feel safer. Through it I’ve learnt new skills and made a lot of new friends.
£40,011
Supported by The Women’s Fund United Utilities Community Fund BIBA’s Foundation Blackpool Fund Jim Hosker Memorial
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BENEFICIARY INTERVIEW
Vital Signs
Themes
Strong Communities Health & Wellbeing Environment Education & Learning Safety
Community
Need
The average ‘Attainment 8’ score (a measure of a pupil’s average grade across 8 set subjects) per pupil for the Lancashire area for 2016/17 (45.7) was similar to the North West (45.6). Burnley at 41.3 had the second lowest average score in Lancashire
A systematic review of international evidence found that participating in structured arts activities led to increases in transferable skills (including confidence and communication) of between 10-17%
Students from low income families who engage in the arts at school are twice as likely to volunteer
66% of our survey respondents did not agree that there were plenty of arts and culture facilities and event on offer in their area
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Community Foundation Lancashire
Burnley Yo Burnley Youth Theatre was set up in 1973 and has grown into a vibrant, innovative charity that engages over 6,500 children and young people per year. Every year, Burnley Youth Theatre delivers, produces and programmes a wide range of creative activities, productions and events that engage the community. The charity operates from a purpose-built venue in Burnley, Lancashire, which includes a 158seat theatre, three studio spaces and two outdoor spaces. Highlights of the theatre’s year include their six inhouse productions’ which range from new work to scripted classics.
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
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Community
Investment
outh Theatre Meet Eli (Beneficiary)
“As part of the [#iWill] volunteering programme, I had a trainee marketing position, which was great and gave me the opportunity to develop myself and develop a new aspect and a side of theatre that I hadn’t had chance to look at before. Before here I was a closed off person, very quiet. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I never expected a lot from myself but you get pushed quite a lot, especially since it is a youth theatre you get pushed to be the best version of yourself that you can be, the best performer. Coming here you meet so many different people and learn about so many different things that you could possibly get into. There is such a range of sessions, it’s not just acting or singing or dancing, you can do tech, marketing or front of house it’s made me think of different ways my life could go and has made me push for that better side of myself.”
Meet Amy (Beneficiary) “I joined the youth board when I was 12 and that was a school council role, but that developed into event planning, we planned Solar Fest, Fright Night and other fundraising events and to raise money to run these events we did things like bag packs. The best thing about the theatre are the people, the people are really good and you meet so many different people and that improves your social skills significantly.
Burnley Youth Theatre received £5,000 from the #iwill Fund. This funding allowed the group to build upon the success of their 50/50 project for a second year. The 50/50 project gave 50 young people the chance to volunteer 50 hours of their time at Burnley Youth Theatre over a 12-month period. The funding will be used to give further opportunities to the young people who have continued to volunteer from the year before and bring in a number of new volunteers. Burnley Youth Theatre were also awarded £3,000 from the Christal Foundation. Funding was used to carry out research on the barriers to participation in arts for the local ethnic minority community. The project delivered workshops, forums and consultation sessions in local community settings to find out why people from BAMER communities are less likely to participate than their White British peers, before devising solutions and involving participants in the theatre’s winter production.
Supported with
5 Grants Total Funding
£19,385
Acting also gives you a different point of perspective, pretending to be other people means you can empathise with different situations.
Supported by
Before the project researching arts participation, I had very set opinions, what my parents thought and what I had heard at school but after this I realised there are so many other things going on in the world, so many different kinds of people and just realised that there is a big, old world out there.”
Christal Foundation #iwill Fund John Laing Charitable Trust
BENEFICIARY INTERVIEW
Vital Signs
Themes
Health & Wellbeing Strong Communities Fairness
Community
Need
According to a study by the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs, the likelihood that someone will suffer from clinical depression actually goes up by about 40% after retiring
In Nelson, the greatest proportion of Pakistani residents is in Whitefield where approximately 70% of the population are of Pakistani ethnicity
In 2016, 2.5 million foreign-born people were in poverty (32% of all foreign-born people) – this contrasts with a poverty rate of 19% for UK-born people
The stress of immigration can increase risk for major depressive disorder (MDD), while cultural factors can contribute to difficulty in diagnosis and treatment of MDD among immigrant populations
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Community Foundation Lancashire
W e l d n e P Forum \
Established in 1998, Pendle Women’s Forum uses a holistic approach to improve the lives of women in Pendle. Based in the highly deprived Whitefield area of Nelson, the team focuses on issues faced by the area’s predominantly Pakistani community, whose cultural backgrounds can lead to significant disadvantages and health inequalities. Access to the group is by no means limited by cultural background and multiple services aim to serve and improve wellbeing for all the women of Pendle, often using mixed groups to promote community cohesion and shared understanding.
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Women's Meet Ivy (Beneficiary)
“I have been involved with Pendle Women’s Forum for about three years, after I retired from work. I didn’t realise how much I would miss it [work], I’ve always had a busy life, I was 69 at the time. I felt that I lost all direction and it gradually crept up on me, I ended up calling it ‘scrapheap syndrome’. People had been saying you don’t know how lucky you are, no work, things of that nature. But another part of me felt is there something wrong with me? Something wrong in my head? So many people saying how I should feel and how pleased they would be for the freedom
I had a responsible job for 30 years in technical back up in building control, local authorities. I had been confident in what I had been doing, I just felt like a brick balloon and I didn’t want medication. I went to the library when I discovered Pendle Women’s Forum, I came in and began speaking to one of the staff, and they told me about a crafts session so I came down. When I walked into the session there was 12-13 people and we were all sat there really quietly but by the end of the session we were laughing like we had known each other for ages. There were people from various backgrounds and cultures, which was very beneficial, I’ve learnt all sorts, and it’s a chance to share knowledge. Coming to Pendle Women’s Forum has given me a purpose. I went into the decline and it is like I have woken up. Depression is a strong word but anxiety was creeping in and could have developed into something serious, as far as depression, and I feel I was rescued in a way.”
Community
Investment In 2018/19 Pendle Women’s Forum received £4,940.00 from the CFL Wellbeing Fund. This funding was used to continue the group’s befriending service for elderly women and BAMER communities, who were experiencing feelings of stress, isolation, depression, anxiety, or unhappiness.
Supported with
2 Grants Total Funding
£9,840
Supported by Comic Relief CFL Wellbing Fund
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BENEFICIARY INTERVIEW
Watch our video
Vital Signs
Themes
Health & Wellbeing Education & Learning
Community
Need
In Hyndburn the number of people claiming IB/ESA (Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support Allowance) is 4.2% which is higher than the national rate of 2.6%
21% of children in families with at least one disabled member are in poverty, a significantly higher proportion than the 16% of children in families with no disabled member
Life expectancy in Hyndburn is significantly lower than in England. In Hyndburn female life expectancy is 81 and 83.1 nationally. For males in Hyndburn it is 77 compared to 79.6 nationally
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Community Foundation Lancashire
Motiv8 L
Motiv8 is an educational Community Interest Company that provides a wide range of structured learning activities to improve overall wellbeing and employment prospects for adults with disabilities. Based in Accrington, the centre delivers topics tailored to participants own individual learning needs to develop their social, functional, advocacy and interpersonal skills. Session topics include gardening, IT, cooking and healthy eating, multi-sports, dance and fitness, drama and a wide range of art and crafts.
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Lancashire Meet Amy (Beneficiary)
“I first heard about Motiv8 from my social worker Deborah. I came to a taster day in January and at first I wasn’t sure I wanted to join because it was new place and at the time I was spending a lot of time sitting at home, feeling depressed and lonely, I didn’t have the motivation or confidence to go out the house. After the taster day, I decided I would attend one day per week, but now I come three days per week. We do all sorts of activities, there is literally something going on every day and it’s different every week, you’ll always find something to do. We do arts and crafts, drawing, gardening, cookery and dancing. Motiv8 is quite different to the other places I have been to, my favourite thing about Motiv8 is getting involved with everybody, meeting others and creating friendships. Motiv8 has done so much for me, it has given me a positive outlook on life, I’m not depressed and I’m not lonely anymore. I feel like I now have the skills to go where I want to go. I especially want to live in my own place, get married and all that stuff. I feel like I can do that now I have the skills to live independently, like cooking and cleaning.”
19
Community
Investment Last year Motiv8 completed its ‘Move more, eat less, feel fitter’ project which received £20,000 from the United Utilities Community Fund. The project included a variety of classes covering fitness activities, maintaining a balanced diet and cookery. The project improved self-esteem and physical health by facilitating social interactions and enhancing participants’ knowledge of nutrition and exercise.
Supported with
5 Grants Total Funding
£28,034
Supported by United Utilities Community Fund Comic Relief John Laing Charitable Trust Surviving Winter Lancashire Community Investment Fund
BENEFICIARY INTERVIEW
Vital Signs
Themes
Strong Communities Health & Wellbeing Rural Communities
Community
Need
There are around seven million carers in the UK – that is one in 10 people. This is rising. Three in five people will be carers at some point in their lives in the UK
In a population study among the elderly, those between the ages of 75 and 84 years have a higher risk of developing complicated grief compared with a younger age group
33% of people in England who are aged 65+ report feeling lonely sometimes, that number rises steeply for those who are 80+ with roughly half feeling lonely. The St Anne’s area of Flyde is ranked as ‘very high risk’ of loneliness on The Age UK Loneliness heat map
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Community Foundation Lancashire
Chat Group
CHAT Group is a carers and bereavement support group whose objective is to support by providing a space to communicate and create friendships for those who are socially isolated due to their circumstances. The group meets every Friday for two hours at its base in Thornton Cleverley’s Medical Centre. CHAT group is currently at full capacity with 25 members and three more on the waiting list. Along with the main meeting the group runs several other activities including quizzes, monthly lunches, guest speakers, gentle exercise classes, raffles, bring-and-buys and a bi-weekly tea bar to reach as many isolated people as possible.
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
Meet Pat (Community Leader) I worked for 34 years in the NHS and took early retirement at 50 to look after my mum and dad who were fighting cancer. Sadly two years later my dad died and in 2012 my mum died at the age of 90. I joined the group because of my dad’s death and I became an active member more or less straight away. In 2008, the nurse who ran it retired, it was due to close unless someone within the group would take charge. Nobody wanted to volunteer so they came to me, I didn’t know what to do with it, but I didn’t want it to close, I could see the disappointment in the people and how they’d miss the support that we give. I decided to give it a go, this is me now 11 years later. Here if people want to talk about who they have lost they can, but they make friends first and that gives them the chance. It’s not counselling we are qualified in, it is friendship and you get a good dose of that here. When we got the Community Foundation grant we were over the moon. It just helps to keep the group going and those funds come back to the group themselves, they get things subsidised throughout the year. The activity we did with the grant was gentle exercise and was good for older people who don’t get up as much. We also had a sandwich lunch and hired a travel bus and that all came from the grant. They loved that activity, it was gorgeous.”
It's not counselling we are qualified in, it is friendship and you get a good dose of that here. Meet Carol (Beneficiary) “I originally got involved with CHAT Group when my mum was referred by her doctor. She had a stroke last year that left her with some disabilities and led to depression. I noticed after my mum had been that the depression started to go because she had somewhere to go and people to talk to. I came on the odd trip with my mum and then I joined because it was such a good group. I lost my husband, Peter, just before his 53rd birthday, the same year my dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer. CHAT Group has helped me to get back into the real world. When you lose somebody, especially a husband or wife, all your plans for a while stop because that person that you did things with is no longer there. So it is nice to be able to go out with friends and say ‘oh wouldn’t your husband have enjoyed this’. When you share yourself with others it lifts your spirits. If CHAT wasn’t here then my mum would’ve never been a member, so I would have had to have taken care of her and well I wouldn’t have had much of a social life. It has opened doors for me and my mum, we come together and we leave together but we have our own friends whilst we are here. With CHAT you think oh Friday is CHAT day and you look forward to Friday. It really is something to look forward to.”
Community
Investment CHAT Group received £2,130 from the Community Foundation Lancashire Wellbeing Fund. Funding was split between a number of CHAT Group’s core services and activities. Including bingo and quiz nights, a Travel Care community bus for transport to the local YMCA Leisure Centre, a ‘street party’ afternoon to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years of marriage and a Christmas themed afternoon tea.
Supported with
1 Grants Total Funding
£2,130
Supported by Community Foundation Lancashire Wellbeing Fund
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Make a difference We work as part of a national network of 46 UK Community Foundations, providing expert charitable advice, sound management and due diligence support services to make charitable giving easy, tax-efficient and robust.
Giving options Working with us is an ideal way for you or your business to get directly involved in charitable giving without the time consuming administrative or legal responsibilities and understanding of charity law. We provide the opportunity to set up a stand alone charitable fund or foundation for your personal, family or corporate charitable aims, named by you for your aims and involving your family or colleagues. A dedicated relationship manager will work with you on developing plans, identifying cause areas and levels of involvement enabling you to direct your giving whilst they provide guidance.
As an Organisation
Endowment
We’ve helped companies and public sector bodies such as United Utilities, John Laing, North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, RWE Innogy and the Home Office and more set up funds and foundations to connect them to the causes that they care about. We work closely with our partners so that we can integrate our services with their charitable goals and provide reports on social impact.
We view charitable giving as a long-term strategic investment. For those who wish to achieve this objective, your capital is invested and the income earned is awarded in charitable donations, achieving long-lasting impact for the community with a continuous annual income for distributing grants. We hold in excess of ÂŁ18 million in endowment, and have ambitious targets to grow the fund for the benefit of our communities.
As an Individual
Flow-through
We realise that at the core of everybody’s charitable giving is a unique motive and for that reason our service is adaptable, tailored and bespoke. We have worked with a number of notable individuals such as Ted Fort and the Lancaster Family to help achieve their charitable aims.
A second option available is flow-through funds which are distributed as grants within a defined period of time, often by making an annual donation which is distributed within that year to make an immediate impact.
Establish a Legacy
Trust transfers
We can help you create a unique and lasting legacy for your community which reflects your personal wishes, supports the causes and issues, or the area you care about and benefits future generations in the years to come.
We can revitalise ineffective funds through trust transfers and set up effective named funds managed by us. If your trust fund has become ineffective or if you are looking to transfer your active trust fund, we can offer a bespoke charitable giving service.
Our expert team are able to design a bespoke strategy that addresses both practical and emotional considerations ensuring a more personalised experience.
The work of the Community Foundation in revitalising dormant or ineffective trusts is acknowledged by the Charity Commission.
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Community Foundation Lancashire
Lancashire’s VitalSigns
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Our Supporters The work we do would not be possible without the support of all those listed below
#iwill Fund
Lancaster Foundation
Aldridge Foundation
Mark McQueen Foundation
Alfred Shaw Trust
Nationwide Building Society
B&M Communities Together Fund
Nationwide Foundation
BHP Biliton Fund
New Beginnings Fund
Blue Sky Foundation
New Progress Housing Community
Blurred Lines Foundation
BIBA’s Foundation
Pendle Music Bursary Fund
British Red Cross Open Arms Fund
Preston New Road Community Benefit Fund
Building a Stronger Britain Together
Rossendale Community Fund
Christal Foundation
Royal London
Comic Relief
Rumi and Rishi Fund
Dulverton Trust
RWE Innogy Community Investment Fund
Fort Vale
Uber Moving Fund
John Laing Charitable Trust Fund
United Utilities Lancashire Community Fund
Lancashire Community Investment Fund
W O Street Foundation
Investment Fund
Lancashire Flood Recovery Lancashire Wellbeing Fund Lancaster Community Fund
Thank you
Join us and make a difference in your community Whether you’re considering setting up a fund, interested in further developing your knowledge of local need or simply want to explore options available to you - please contact us:
Rae Brooke
Karen Morris
Chief Executive
Development Director
T: 0151 294 4757
T: 0151 294 4751
M: 07515328162
M: 07973409858
E: rae.brooke@cflm.email
E: karen.morris@cflm.email
With special thanks to: Our President: Lord Lieutenant, Lord Charles Shuttleworth Our Chair and Trustees: Arthur Roberts (Retired Senior Director, BNFL) Amanda Meachin (CEO, Community & Business Partners) Andy Myers (Retired Regional Head of National Lottery Community Fund) Carmel Hall (Retired HR Director, Alstom Power Services) Chris Bliss (Co-Founder & Director, Momentum Property Solutions) Colin Wardale (Retired Finance Director, Hill Dickinson) David Wareing (Head of Marine and Trade, Hill Dickinson) Dennis Mendoros (Entrepreneur and Founder of Euravia Engineering) Steven Connolly (Estate Director, Liverpool ONE)
Project team: Ben Roberts Gary Vyse James Proctor Alan Gillespie (Research Assistant Intern) Niamh Whitney (Research Assistant Intern)
Third Floor Stanley Buildings Liverpool One Estate 43 Hanover Street Liverpool L1 3DN Call: 0330 440 4900 Email: info@cflm.email www: lancsfoundation.org.uk Lancsfoundation
@lancsfoundation
Registered Charity Number: 1068887 Registered Company Number: 03422207
in association with
