London Gatwick supports good causes in Surrey

Surrey community groups were jumping for joy this week as London Gatwick announced the recipients of £30,000 from the second round of the London Gatwick Foundation Fund of 2024, across Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge and Mole Valley.

Among the six good causes which benefitted from a financial boost were St Mark’s Church, Tattenham Corner, which will spend its £7,000 of funding on providing a children and family worker to serve deprived areas of East Surrey.

The role involves providing crafts, storytelling and gardening activities for families who struggle financially.

Des Williamson, vicar of the United Church of St. Mark, Tattenham, said: “This grant helps us as we seek to serve the community around us where there is a lot of social need.

“The area we serve is economically mixed and some parts are among the most deprived in Surrey where there are the highest levels of domestic abuse and statemented children at our local school.”

Amber Foundation will put its £7,000 of funding towards providing mental health support to vulnerable young adults experiencing homelessness.

The group provides supported housing for young people aged 18 to 30 at Farm Place in Ockley.

YMCA East Surrey received nearly £6,700 to provide inclusive exercise opportunities to people in East Surrey with disabilities. It runs activities from its Sports & Community Centre in Redhill.

YMCA East Surrey's inclusive and disability sports coordinator Russ Bewley said: “Despite the significant health benefits, both adults and children with disabilities have lower levels of physical activity, hence our continued push to get more disabled people involved in sports. Funding is key to achieving this and we are incredibly grateful to have been awarded a grant to support this vital work."

Home-Start Epsom, Ewell & Banstead (HSEEB) will use its £3,500 of funding to pay for some of its 2024 core costs. The group supports vulnerable or disadvantaged families with young children in Epsom, Ewell and the surrounding areas.

HSEEB chair of trustees Briony Thomas said: “Wow! We are delighted to receive this additional funding which will help us provide vital support to families struggling with the emotional and practical essentials. This funding will allow us to help families give their children the best start in life.”

Mental health charity Mind of the Student has received £3,000 which it will use to provide workshops in secondary schools in Surrey, allowing it to reach 2,000 more young people in the county.

Co-founder and director at Mind of the Student, Kieran Goodwin said: "A heartfelt thank you to the London Gatwick Foundation Fund for championing the importance of mental health and helping us have a transformative impact on young people within Surrey communities.

"We are currently facing a mental health epidemic, with over two million young people having a probable mental health problem in England and Wales.”

Finally, Be Me Project, which provides school and community courses, will use £2,320 to deliver mental health support groups in schools in Surrey.

Melanie Wrightson, stakeholder engagement manager at London Gatwick, said: “We love making a difference to our local community through the London Gatwick Foundation Fund, which has helped hundreds of good causes over the years.

“We can’t wait to hear updates from the charities and community projects we have supported this year about their completed projects.

“We encourage all community groups and charities to apply for the next round of funding to enable us to lend a helping hand.”

Each year there are three rounds of grants, totalling £100,000, which are made available to beneficiaries in Surrey, across the area of benefit which covers Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge and Mole Valley.

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

The deadline to express an interest in funding in Surrey is 14 October 2024.

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

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Editors notes

For further information, please contact:

Tom Bushby, Samantha Clark or Flo Powell

Midnight Communications

Tel: 01273 666 200

Email: gatwick@midnight.co.uk

Notes to editors:

About London Gatwick Foundation Fund

The London 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 London Gatwick Foundation Fund has made more than £1.7m in donations, which support local grassroots community and voluntary projects that make a difference to people’s lives and meet local need.

It operates in Sussex across Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Wealden, in Surrey across Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge and Mole Valley, and in Kent across Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.

For more information visit: https://www.gatwickairport.com/company/community/funding.html