Dedicated voluntary and community groups working to support residents in the borough and make a real difference to their lives have one week left to bid for an annual fund run by Croydon Council.
The £2.6m Community Fund was set up to help voluntary or community groups in Croydon working to deliver key outcomes that boost the health, quality of life or prospects of the borough’s residents.
The desired outcomes cover five themes:
• Helping people to live long, healthy, happy and independent lives,
• Helping our children and young people thrive and reach their full potential,
• Helping people to access homes and prevent homelessness,
• Helping everyone feel safer in their street, neighbourhood and home,
• Helping everyone to have the opportunity to work and build their career.
There are two separate bidding processes: a simple grant application for less than £15,000 funding and a bidding process for commissioned services of more than £15,000 up to £40,000.
One group that benefited from the funding is the Asian Resource Centre of Croydon. This helped them offer free educational support to children and parents from poorer and more challenging backgrounds.
One young person benefitting from this support was 11-year-old Kasper Bortowski, who has a learning disability and uses a wheelchair. Since enrolling in the support scheme his results at school have improved.
Kasper’s mother, Marta Kruszewska, said: “Kasper got a lot out of the classes. He got exceptional tuition for English and maths. English is his favourite subject and he wants to be an English teacher but with maths he always struggled and wasn’t as confident.
“He’s really enjoyed it and with this help he’s passed his SATs at the end of last year thanks to this.”
“The Community Fund reflects our commitment to and investment in Croydon’s voluntary sector. We know that community and voluntary organisations in Croydon make a massive contribution and are among the most inspiring in London, and we are doing all we can to support them despite significant cuts to local government in the last decade.
“This funding will help tackle some of the biggest issues in Croydon, empowering and inspiring our communities to reach their full potential.”
Councillor Hamida Ali, cabinet member for safer Croydon and communities
Visit the council website to find out more about how to bid for funding. Bids must be submitted by Tuesday 1 October.
