London Gatwick lends helping hand to good causes in Sussex

Sussex community groups were celebrating this week as London Gatwick announced the recipients of £33,000 from round one of the Gatwick Foundation Fund across Crawley, Horsham and Wealden.

Among the five good causes which benefited from a financial boost were The Forget Me Nots, which will use its £5,000 of funding to support the carers of people with dementia, living in and around Crawley.

Family Support Work will now be able to set up a new support service in Horsham to support disadvantaged families with its £5,000 of funding. 

Horsham independent charity 4 The Youth received £5,000 which will help it to run youth projects for young people in the Horsham District and surrounding areas.

Holistic Wellbeing Community in Crawley was awarded a £5,000 boost which will support the community charity as it offers free holistic therapies to support wellbeing and mental health.

Finally Streetlight in Crawley, which helps women involved in prostitution, at risk of sexual violence and sex trafficking to find a way out, received £10,000.

Alison Burke, Trustee at The Forget Me Nots, said: “The money awarded to us by the Gatwick Foundation Fund will enable us to continue to pay for dedicated staff, which is vital to support carers whose loved ones have dementia.

“The Forget Me Nots provides a safe place for our members to express their fears, anger, anxiety, frustration and love within their own unique situations.

“There is no judgement, and it means they can share the challenges of looking after someone with dementia. 

“The funding will also allow us to continue with our programme of events such as days out, afternoon teas and educational community events.

“Without Gatwick Foundation Fund, our journey would be so much harder and we’re very grateful for the extra support.”

Melanie Wrightson, Stakeholder Engagement Manager at London Gatwick, said: “We know that the funding we have provided for these local grassroots community and voluntary projects will make a real difference to people’s lives as they continue to work tirelessly during the current cost of living crisis.

“It gives us so much joy at London Gatwick to support our local community as we continue to build on the benefits that the airport delivers to its neighbours.

“We look forward to hearing how this funding will help people in need and invite other community groups to apply for future rounds of funding from the Gatwick Foundation Fund so they can benefit from the airport’s success too.” 

Each year there are three rounds of grants, totalling £100,000, which are made available to beneficiaries in Sussex, across the area of benefit which covers Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Wealden.

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 on behalf of London Gatwick in Sussex by the Sussex Community Foundation.

Applications are open now and the deadline to apply for the next round of funding is 8 September.

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

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Editors notes

About Gatwick Foundation Fund

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 & 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/