Our Community Cares Fund recipients

Abbeycroft Leisure has been awarded £4,855.90 to support low-income families by offering an outdoor activity day centre around an outdoor cooking masterclass. Families will also receive a food box containing ingredients for five meals, suitable for a family of four.

Asperger East Anglia has been awarded £4,536 to provide work-experience placements for autistic young people via their Training and Employment Workshop.

Bike Active North Suffolk has been awarded £1,662.30 to purchase a new bike, ensuring that they can cater for all abilities.

Cancer Support Suffolk has been awarded £1,393 for their monthly support and social group for people affected by cancer, their family and carers.

Caribbean and African Community Health Support Forum has been awarded £4,105.80 to run exercise classes aimed at African and Caribbean people aged 50 and over to address health inequalities for people in and around Ipswich.

Compassion has been awarded £5,000 to support their Escape The Trap Programme, supporting young people who have experience violence in relationships and educating them on ways to recognise and avoid violence and form healthy relationships.

Ending Life's Taboo has been awarded £3,245 to offer counselling sessions for young people (up to 45) and their families living with life-shortening illnesses in Suffolk and Essex.

Green Light Trust has been awarded £5,000 to support their new Step Up programme which will teach skills to enable participants to access progressive opportunities, including community-based activities, work experience and learning.

Hope After Suicide Loss has been awarded £3,245 to provide comprehensive and holistic support for those who have been bereaved by suicide in both Suffolk and Norfolk.

Hope Church Ipswich has been awarded £1,500 for their Conversational English project.

Innova8 Workshops has been awarded £1,585 to deliver life-changing fitness programmes, offering a space where vulnerable young people can grow.

Inspiring Happiness CIC has been awarded £4,995 to support the Lantern Project, a peer-led survivors group for women who have experience any form of childhood or adult abuse.

Ipswich Outreach Bus has been awarded £1,622 for their soup kitchen and to provide their beneficiaries with essential items.

Murrayside Community Development CIC has been awarded £5,000 for their Parkinson’s Boxing Classes.

Music in Our Bones has been awarded £2,520 to continue to provide their monthly HeartSong singing sessions, aimed at reducing isolation and improving wellbeing in people manging caring roles or coping with bereavement.

Project Apis CIC has been awarded £4,990 which will enable them to launch ‘The Place to Be’, Lowestoft’s first community apiary and social hub.

Riding for the Disabled (Woodbridge & District Group) has been awarded £4,500, which will support the Changing Lives Through Horses programme. This structured programme is designed for young people aged 5 to 25, offering an alternative learning environment to mainstream education.

Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society has been awarded £3,000 towards their Sands United Football Club, to enable them to increase their supportive communities.

Suffolk Law Centre has been awarded £4,990 to develop its work in supporting neurodivergent young people to join, stay, and flourish.

Suffolk Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre has been awarded £4,377 for their Member’s Afternoon Teas for people living with the condition, providing a place to meet and form a community.

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Brandon has been awarded £5,000 to support the weekly community meal, men's breakfast and women's coffee morning.

Volunteering Matters has been awarded £5,000 to relaunch their ‘Youth Switching on Ipswich’ a youth-led group offering weekly sessions focused on social action.

YMCA Trinity Group has been awarded £4,000 to offer support for young people within schools in Lowestoft.

Action Community Enterprises CIC (ACE) has been awarded £4,000 to deliver weekly ‘Job Clubs’ at their Community Hub for economically inactive and unemployed residents.

Bicycle Links CIC has been awarded £3,000 for ‘Welcome Wheels’ a project that provides refugees and asylum seekers in Norwich with a free, refurbished bike and accessories. This helps them access appointment, language classes and participate more fully in the community.

Build Charity Limited has been awarded £5,000 to run their Skills for Life Programme, offering monthly accessible life-skills training to maximise people's independence in the face of disability of any sort.

ENYP has been awarded £3,000 to develop a new Youth Hub providing regular activities for young people living in deprived areas of Norwich.

Grapes Hill Community Garden Group has been awarded £2,373 to continue running their regular volunteering sessions and community roots workshop.

Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Young Carers Project has been awarded £2,827 to continue to run their Peer Support Group for young carers.

Hope After Suicide Loss has been awarded £1,755 to provide comprehensive and holistic support for those who have been bereaved by suicide in both Suffolk and Norfolk.

Local Welcome CIO has been awarded £4,800 to continue their community group, offering cooking and conversation. They will also add two creative workshops.

Magic Acorns CIC has been awarded £3,050 towards the delivery of their Sensory Play sessions.

Nelson's Journey has been awarded £1,700 to support the delivery of two ‘Grief Connections Workshops’.

New Routes Integration has been awarded £5,000 to enhance their programme of community support and integration offerings for refugees and asylum seekers, including English language conversation workshops, employability workshops and youth clubs. 

Norwich City Community Sports Foundation has been awarded £5,000 to continue to run their weekly dementia café for sufferers and their carers, offering a range of mild sporting activities.

Norwich Climate CIC has been awarded £2,450 which will enable them to provide energy advice for refugees who have moved into their own accommodation.

Abberton Rural Training has been awarded £4,500 to deliver a Horticulture Course at the community garden at a Mental Health facility. Attendees will work towards a qualification, whilst being supported by a mentor and attending activities to improve their mental health. 

Action for Family Carers has been awarded £3,400 which will enable the children and young people to make healthy meals for attendees at the Young Carers Club.

Age Well East Ltd has been awarded £1,780 to set up a weekly friendship group in Colchester to help combat loneliness and social isolation in people aged 60 and above. 

Aspire Educational Mentoring CIC has been awarded £4,250 and will use the funding to support their mentoring project, working with disadvantaged students in Tendring.

Blossome CIC has been awarded £5,000 towards funding a part-time Volunteer Coordinator to support their trauma-informed self-care community.

City of Chelmsford Mencap has been awarded £4,300 to deliver a specialist course teaching the social use of language to lifelong learning students aged 19 – 70 who have a learning disability and/or autism.

Colchester United Community Foundation has been awarded £5,000 for their Senior U’s programme, which is a weekly health and wellbeing session combining social interaction and low-impact physical activity.

Dance Network Association has been awarded £3,500 to set up ‘Connect and Dance’ a new movement and wellbeing class for adults aged 50+.

Ending Life's Taboo has been awarded £2,000 to offer counselling sessions for young people (up to 45) and their families living with life-shortening illnesses in Suffolk and Essex. 

Essex Carers Network CIC has been awarded £4,500 to start a Mid Essex Creative Carers Group. The group will be open to anyone who cares for a family member and will support them to be creative whilst having a break from their caring role.

Essex Dementia Care (EDC) has been awarded £4,488 to expand their Memory Companion service for people with dementia across their services including activity clubs, allotment project and in their own homes. 

Heathlands PTA has been awarded £5,000 and will develop an Innovation Centre, a dedicated space designed to foster creativity, problem-solving and hands-on learning experiences. 

Honeypot Holistic Therapies CIC has been awarded £4,000 and will support early intervention, subsidised counselling for children and young people struggling with their mental health. 

Horse Rangers Association Harwich has been awarded £5,000 and will improve the facilities on site to ensure they can continue to run their services, supporting over 30 children per week.

Jaywick Sands Revival Community Interest Company has been awarded £4,874 and will offer 'Together for Tea' parcels to individuals and community groups. 

Little Yeldham, Tilbury-Juxta-Clare and Ovington Parish Council has been awarded £4,000 and will undertake renovation work to ensure the Recreation Ground is accessible for all. 

Signpost (Colchester) Ltd has been awarded £4,500 to deliver a holistic programme designed to support residents of the Greenstead estate. The project will address four interconnected challenges: employability skills, isolation, digital skills, and cost-of-living pressures.

The Harwich Festival has been awarded £2,300 for Harwich Hands, Hearts & Voices, a community art and storytelling project designed to bring people together, reduce isolation and celebrate the unique identity of the Harwich area and its heritage.

Reach Community Projects has been awarded £1,500 to support their free weekday Welcome Spaces for those experiencing financial hardship, where they are able to provide a collection point for emergency food, utility vouchers and face to face advice.

Wivenhoe Youth Choir has been awarded £2,424 and will use the funding towards core costs for running the choir. 

14th Cambridge Scout Group has been awarded £2,090 and will be able to offer suitable tents for training and scout camps, along with subsidising activities to prevent financial barriers to participation. 

Burwell Community Print Centre has been awarded £1,000 to refurbish the centre to make it more welcoming for the adults with learning difficulties who visit to carry out vocational training and supported employment opportunities.

Cam Sight Cambridge has been awarded £2,254 and will provide weekly Pilates sessions for blind or partially sighted individuals, enhancing physical and mental health and social inclusion. 

Cambridge Acorn Project has been awarded £5,000 which will enable them to introduce and innovative therapeutic model into their existing educational provision for children and young people who are out of school and experiencing challenges.

Lifecraft Cambridge has been awarded £5,000 and will run a number of weekly hubs for adults with severe mental health issues

Rowan has been awarded £4,000 for their new ‘Rowan on the Road’ project which will provide opportunities for Rowan’s student artists (adults with learning disabilities) to help run community outreach creative workshops.