London Gatwick lends helping hand to good causes in Surrey

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

Among the six good causes which benefited from a financial boost were Always Learning Developing and Growing (ALDAG) in Mole Valley which received £8,000, Prospero Theatre CIC in Tandridge, I Choose Freedom in Surrey and Young Epilepsy in Tandridge, which all received £5,000, while Menshare Listening Group in Horley benefitted from £4,364 and Leatherhead Youth Project received £3,000.

ALDAG will use its funding towards the salary costs of a part-time manager for its charity coffee shop Cups & Co in Dorking, which provides apprenticeship opportunities for adults with learning disabilities.

Pam Walden, chair of ALDAG Trustees, said: “Our aim is to reduce barriers to employment for people with a learning disability, focusing on training in hospitality skills with the ultimate goal for the trainees of gaining a paid job in their local community.

“We are very grateful to The London Gatwick Foundation Fund which awarded us £8,000, a contribution towards the salary of a part time manager in our coffee shop.

“We provide an inclusive workplace where all our young people can participate fully and contribute to the coffee shop's success.”

Prospero Theatre CIC will use its money to fund the Sandwich Club, an inclusion styled club for disadvantaged people which tackles loneliness and isolation and improves general wellbeing.

Meanwhile, I Choose Freedom plans to use its funding to pay for a children's advocate’s salary, who will support young victims of domestic abuse.

Sophie Colletti, fundraising and relationships manager, said: “The funding we receive from the London Gatwick Foundation Fund is vital to ensure the children in our care are given the support they deserve to live a life free from abuse.

“Our children’s advocates provide vital support and a safe secure environment for the children and their mothers to work through the trauma to ensure they can move on with their lives free from abuse.”

Young Epilepsy will put the money towards its outdoor and woodland learning programme for pupils.

Menshare Listening Group will use the funding for its men's mental health support group in Horley.

Leatherhead Youth Project will put the money towards funding for a short residential camp for young people experiencing disadvantage in the Leatherhead area.

Melanie Wrightson, stakeholder engagement manager at London Gatwick, said: “We love supporting community groups through the London Gatwick Foundation Fund. Hearing how the money we donate makes a difference to people’s lives is a constant source of joy.

“Sadly, we’re still reading headlines about how the acute cost-of-living crisis is impacting the UK and we know grassroots organisations and voluntary projects will be feeling the financial pressure.

“The London Gatwick Foundation Fund has supported hundreds of good causes over the years. We would like to urge local charities and community groups to apply for the next round of funding and allow us to help them too.”

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.

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

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 £1.5m 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