London Gatwick seeks more deserving causes in Kent

London Gatwick is looking for more good causes to support in Kent through round three of the Gatwick Foundation Fund. 

The fund has £33,000 to donate and is asking for charities and community groups in the county to step forward.

Charities and other worthy organisations are being asked to apply from 1 June, and the deadline is 31 August.

Each year, three rounds of grants totalling £100,000 are made available to beneficiaries in Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.

Melanie Wrightson, stakeholder engagement manager at London Gatwick, said: “It’s very important to everyone at London Gatwick that we support our local community.

“As well as providing employment to many people throughout the county, we also want to bolster those charities and organisations that are doing such great work in the region.”

One previous recipient of funding was We Are Beams, a Kent charity that supports disabled children and families.

It used the money to support the work of its Family Advice Team, which meant it could extend services into the Sevenoaks District, offering families help with education healthcare plans, benefit advice, transport, health and financial matters.

Caroline Brinkman, income generation and development lead at We Are Beams, said: “We were really grateful for the donation as it enabled Beams to get a new service up and running and we are currently supporting 112 families in need in that area.”

Widowed father Brian, who is now bringing up two children on his own added: “My son has Autism, Global Development Delay and MC4R (always seeking food and is hungry all the time). I was finding it hard to cope as I had no respite for Danny and my daughter was suffering as I am too stressed to offer her any time. Beams has really helped me with advice, a new school for Danny, holiday play schemes which is a break for me and my daughter and I have joined the Fathers’ Club.”

Melanie Wrightson added: “So far we have contributed to 80 good causes in Kent because we believe it’s important that everyone in the community benefits from the success of the airport.

“We want everyone eligible to come forward. We award grants to support a number of important issues in the county, contributing towards everything from specific projects to everyday running costs. Get in touch if you need our help.”

The Gatwick Foundation Fund was set up in 2016 to award funding to local groups that work to fight social isolation and tackle disadvantage, raise aspirations and develop skills, improve health and wellbeing, and support children and young people.

The Gatwick Foundation Fund is managed by the Kent Community Foundation on behalf of London Gatwick in Kent.

To apply for funding from the Gatwick Foundation Fund in Kent, please go to: https://kentcf.org.uk/.

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Editors notes

The Gatwick Foundation Fund is managed by individual Community Foundations for Kent, Sussex and Surrey on behalf of London Gatwick, which oversees the programme and assesses all applications.

Each year, there are three rounds of grants, which are split equally between Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

Since it was founded in 2016, the Gatwick Foundation Fund has made more than £1m in donations, which support local grassroots community and voluntary projects that make a difference to people’s lives and meet local need.

The Gatwick Foundation Fund was suspended in April 2020 due to the pandemic. It operates in Sussex across Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Wealden, in Surrey across Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge and the Mole Valley area, and in Kent across Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.

For more information, visit: https://www.gatwickairport.com/business-community/community/our-support/foundation-fund/.