Our latest Community Cares Fund grant winners

In this section

Our Community Cares Fund is our way of giving back to our local communities.  

In 2022, we gave away over £200,000 to local groups and good causes in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk who are reducing loneliness and isolation by bringing communities together, providing people in need with access to good quality, nutritious food and helping people to improve their mental health and wellbeing.  

We’re really pleased to announce the recipients of the second donation of £100,000 from the Fund (you can read about our previous recipients here). We can’t wait to see the amazing things they will do with the funding they have been awarded.  

In Essex, we've awarded funding to 10 local groups and charities:

  • Ark Family Resource Centre are creating a sensory garden for children and families in Harwich.
  • Bread and Roses Barge CIC will be delivering wellbeing sessions and providing a safe space for vulnerable women on their Thames Sailing Barge May.
  • Bridgeway Mission are providing food, friendship and guidance to newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers in Colchester.
  • Colchester Kings RFC, the first LGBTQ+ rugby team in East Anglia, will be offering opportunities for anyone, regardless of sexuality, age, size or ability, to enjoy the benefits of team sport.  
  • Citizen's Advice Bureau Tendring will be upgrading their IT equipment so they can help even more people in need of financial or personal support. 
  • Clothing Clinic Textile Collective CIC are going to encouraging more people to discover the wellbeing benefits of sewing and textile art.
  • Little Yeldham, Tilbury-Juxta-Clare and Ovington Parish Council are making their pathways accessible, so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of being outside.
  • Silver End Youth Club will be providing engaging activities at their new weekly youth club.
  • Stambourne Congregational Church will be offering befriending and community services for the most vulnerable in their community.
  • Theatre Témoin will be providing workshops to help young people navigate the challenges of social media.

In Suffolk, we've given grants to 11 good causes:

  • Abbeycroft Leisure are developing their 'Family Park Cooking Project', which gives families in receipt of Free School Meals the opportunity to enjoy time spent together in the great outdoors.
  • Beccles Lido will be using their grant for their 'Forget-Me-Nots' group, a social club for those living with dementia and their carers.  
  • Debenham Village Hall & Playing Field Trust will use their grant to support their Golden Years Games Club, a bi-weekly games club for older people at risk of isolation. 
  • Future Female Society will be using their funding to support vulnerable women through their monthly More Than Mum coffee mornings and quarterly Happiness Brunches.
  • Karibu African Women's Support Group will be creating a children's social group, strengthening their bonds within the community.
  • St Edmundsbury Cathedral will be expanding their Yard Project to support children through fun activities and life skills after school and during the holidays.  
  • St Elizabeth Hospice are working with their local libraries to provide training to staff in talking compassionately about-end of-life. They will also be providing multi-age books and resources to facilitate conversations about end-of-life.
  • The Pear Tree Fund will be using their funds to develop their 'Cooking for One' project, an initiative which supports the recently bereaved in adapting to their new personal situations.
  • The Sunflower Community Care Farm CIC will be supporting women experiencing personal challenges such as trauma or poor mental health through enriching outdoor activities.
  • Voices for Gainsborough Community Library are using their funding to support their new 'Man Can Talk' group and create a new community singing project.

In Norfolk, we've supported 8 great local causes:

  • ArtatWork CIC will be developing a new, free creative wellbeing club for adults in Mile Cross.
  • Get Me Out The Four Walls will be making new connections in their communities, so even more people can be supported through life's challenges.
  • Morley Village & Sports Hall will be purchasing new, accessible equipment for their community climbing wall, so those living with a disability can enjoy the fun of climbing too.   
  • Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre Norfolk will be supported in covering the rising energy costs for their centre, supporting people living with the complications of MS. 
  • Norfolk & Norwich SEND Association (NANSA) are using their grant to provide opportunities to socialise through their free Link-up programme for adults with learning disabilities.
  • Norwich Men's Shed are going to be getting out and about with their 'Shedders', encouraging anyone and everyone to get involved in the joy of creating through outreach events and open days.
  • Parenting Apart Centre East CIC are providing specialist contact support sessions in Great Yarmouth and Norwich.
  • Willow Tree Garden will be offering a new programme of cooking, art, music and exercise classes for young adults living with disabilities.

Our Community Cares Fund is supported by the generous donations of our members and customers. If you'd like to help even more amazing things happen, find out how you can help here.

Our previous Community Cares Fund grant winners

We've given over £500,000 to local good causes since the Community Cares Fund launched in March 2020. Find out more about the groups and projects here.

Meet the grantees