A TOTAL of 24 groups and projects in the Freshney ward have benefited from nearly £34,000-worth of government grants.
The Freshney ward is one of six wards to benefit from the Community First programme.
The money they have received from the government-supported Community Development Foundation has gone towards groups within the Freshney ward -– Aylesby Park, Great Coates, The Willows and Wybers Wood – for the benefit of the residents.
Funding amounts vary from £250 to £2,500 and cover a wide range of activities.
In total, 24 projects have received funding to help them buy equipment, put on events, set up centres, clubs and groups.
The Safer Homes service was one of those groups to receive a grant.
A sum of £1,000 was handed over to them, which will be used to buy alarms and other equipment to ensure more security for the residents of Freshney ward.
Gary Starkie, manager at Safer Homes, said: "We do a lot of work with residents and hold what we call Street Crime Reduction Days.
"This money will allow us to go into specific areas in the ward and look at the security of its homes.
"This is all done with the basic intention of stopping these residents being the victims of crime.
"We are a social enterprise so every grant of this nature is of huge benefit to us."
Community First is an £80 million government-funded initiative that runs until March 2015.
The programme is managed by the Community Development Foundation, which has awarded the Freshney ward with £33,910 for the four-year funding project.
The panel, elected by the Freshney Forward forum, has to date recommended £21,653 in funding.
Nick Mussell, co-ordinator of the Chatteris House Knit And Sew Group, added: "This grant will prove to be more than useful. It's enabled us to buy a new sewing machine, and we should be able to buy more materials and equipment as well.
"We will also look to spread the funds over the coming years, which will help us.
"Hopefully we will be able to get some more funding once the year is up, but the idea is to sustain ourselves by selling our items."
Richard Keeble, leader of the Discovery Kids After School Club, was delighted to receive £1,443.69 on behalf of the group.
The money will be used to buy puppets and equipment to entertain, teach and provide fun events for the whole community to take part in.
Richard said: "The Community First group has kindly funded us to buy some new puppets as well as a stage.
"This will enable us to develop and do more work in the community, teaching and entertaining the children. We will certainly get a lot of use out of this grant. To receive more than £1,400 is fantastic, and we are very grateful.
"It is great to see that they are providing funds for a number of different groups which will bring the community together."
A grant of £2,190 was also handed over to XL Mentoring, who help support young people who are struggling and are on the fringes of society by providing them with a mentor.
Carolyn Kehoe, mentor co-ordinator of XL Mentoring, said: "It was absolutely fantastic to receive this money, we can now put our plans into action.
"We work closely with vulnerable young people and this money will allow us to provide DBS checks and training for our mentors – so it will certainly come in handy.
"The money is essential to get us through the year."
Do you run a group within the Freshney ward that is for the benefit of its residents?
If so, you can apply for a grant. The deadline for receiving applications is September 30, 2014.
The projects must be completed by February 28, 2015, with the monitoring form submitted by March 31, 2015.
The project needs to be realistic, necessary and above all benefit the ward's residents. If your group fits the bill, then please contact Freshney Ward Community First by e-mailing freshneyward.communityfirst@inandaround.org.uk or calling 07864 031978.
Alternatively, visit their website at www.freshney.inandaround.org.uk/communityfirst
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