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Gloucestershire Business News

Council launches £80,000 community resilience fund

A new 'Cheltenham community resilience fund' has been set up to support local voluntary sector agencies and community groups that are helping vulnerable people during the Covid-19 crisis.

The scheme, which brings together £30,000 funding from Cheltenham Borough Council and £50,000 from Gloucestershire County Council is to help cover additional costs these groups may incur because of increased activity or functions they have insufficient resources to meet.

Cllr Steve Jordan, leader of the council, said: "The council is pleased to be able to offer support to community based groups who are stepping up to tackle the Covid-19 crisis head on.

"These groups, which are active across the town, are critical to ensuring our communities remain resilient and supported in these unprecedented times."

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: "The county council understands how important community and voluntary groups are to local residents during the coronavirus outbreak, so we are pleased to offer help.

"These payments will enable them to continue providing vital services to ensure those most vulnerable are able to access the support they need.''

Cordell Ray, chief executive of the CCP

In the last two weeks over £10,000 has been granted to support local efforts including:

  • £4,951 to Caring for Communities and People (CCP) to support the unprecedented demand that their emergency FoodShare is currently experiencing. Grant money will be used to safely coordinate the sourcing of food, packing and delivering items to those who need them most.
  • £300 to The Reddings Resident's Association to support the work of the residents association in providing a volunteer support group to their local community.
  • £1,198 for St Michael's Cornerstone Trust to support the purchase of laptops to allow centre managers to work remotely and therefore continue to support the community response which includes online support with mental health / wellbeing projects and food parcel coordination.

Liz Thatcher, events manager for CCP said: "We are so grateful for this extra funding and all other support we have had for our Emergency Food Share appeal. New referrals continue to come in each week and we could not provide for them without the support of our local community."

The council has said that it aims to make decisions about funding within a few days. In this way, they hope to get much needed small grants out to community groups.

Application guidelines and forms can be downloaded online: www.cheltenham.gov.uk/communitypride.

For more information, please contact the council's community services team by email communityservices@cheltenham.gov.uk.

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