This is an exciting week for Pilotlight, as we reveal the winners of the Weston Charity Awards - a brand new programme to provide financial support and strategic capacity building to charities in the North East of England.
The motivation for launching the awards came after research carried out by the Garfield Weston Foundation showed all too clearly the impact of public sector cuts on charities in the North East. The findings put in hard numbers what we’ve been hearing for the last few years: 64% charities have seen incomes fall while demand increases by 60%. When money is tight it is always a struggle to plan strategically, and this is what the Awards have been designed to tackle. We aim to give charities a bit of financial breathing room but mainly the headspace and business mentoring to achieve their goals, plan for sustainability and deliver a greater social impact.
The research identified three areas which have been particularly badly affected: communities, welfare and young people. The six winners cut across these areas, and each has been selected on the basis of their innovative ideas and positive attitude.
- Bliss Mediation Services provides community mediation services to the Blyth Valley and other areas in the North East.
- Caring Hands addresses the needs of local older people and those with disabilities living in the community.
- Edward Lloyd Trust (ELT) focuses on the transition of people with learning disabilities from institutions to the community.
- Horden Youth & Community Centre (HYCC) helps disadvantaged and isolated individuals and families by encouraging them to improve their physical, social health and wellbeing.
- Northumberland Clubs for Young People (NCYP) supports over 1,500 volunteers and reaches over 6,000 young people to enable them to ‘be involved, enjoy and achieve’.
- ShARP (‘Shiney Advice and Resource Project’) works in the Coalfields area of Sunderland to provide advice and support to the community.
We were overwhelmed by the level of interest and the quality of the applications for the awards. If the inspiration for the awards was the impact of cuts and the difficulty of being proactive when you are struggling to keep your head above water, it is evident from the response that there is no shortage of people, communities and organisations in the North East with the resilience and inventiveness to do so.
To be really cheesy – and why not? – that’s why I think every potential beneficiary of these incredible charities is a winner too, and so there are 2.5million winners not just 6!
By Robbie Cowbury, Project Manager, Pilotlight