36 community groups in Harrogate district awarded £92,000

Nov 8, 2023

Volunteers from the successful grant applicants.

Thirty-six voluntary organisations have celebrated being awarded a total of £92,828 by The Local Fund for the Harrogate district.

The fund awards grants of between £200 and £3,000 each year to small organisations with charitable aims in the Harrogate district where a small amount of money can make a significant difference.

It is funded by The Local Lotto, with support from North Yorkshire Council, Harrogate and District Community Action and the Harry Bolland Trust Fund. Two Ridings Community Foundation, which coordinates local giving in North and East Yorkshire, administers the fund.

Two Ridings organised Monday night’s celebration at West Park Hotel in Harrogate, which recognised volunteers from the organisations awarded grants.

They provide services ranging from providing lunches for the homeless, tackling domestic abuse and enabling people in Nidderdale to run safely to improve their wellbeing.

North Yorkshire high sheriff Clare Granger, who joined local councillors at the event, said the successful applicants provided ‘literally a lifeline’ for many people in North Yorkshire.

Celia McKeon, chief executive at Two Ridings, said the fund supported groups with basic running costs, to ensure they can keep their doors open.

Here is a list of the successful applicants, how much each one received and for what purpose.

Community Group	Amount Awarded	Project Description
Artizan	2688	Funding towards staff, craft supplies and refreshments for craft and socialising opportunities for children and teens with Special Educational Needs, alongside support for their parents.
Badapple Theatre Company	1580	Funding towards staff, hall hire, DBS checks and training to run youth session in the rural area of the Ure Valley, and to enable them to earn a recognised award.
Bilton dragon bowling club	1000	Funding towards sprinkler system to make water use more efficient and to support club members with maintenance.
Boroughbridge and District Community Care	3000	Funding towards staff and room hire to train befriending volunteers for people experiencing bereavement, or living with dementia or disabilities, for recently recruited, existing and to-be recruited volunteers.
Claro Enterprises	3000	Funding towards staff, insurance and utilities to run community workshop to support people with mental health difficulties to improve their health and wellbeing.
Dales and Bowland CIC	3000	Funding towards running rural bus service on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Dancing for Well Being	1200	Funding towards operational costs, including a Dance Movement Therapist, for a trial series of sessions to support those who care for family members with dementia, to support carer’s own needs.
Darley Playing Field Association (DPFA)	3000	Funding towards outdoor play equipment for children in rurally isolated village.
Harlow Hill Community Centre Association	2000	Funding towards new doors to improve the carbon footprint and look of community building.
Harrogate & District Community Action	3000	Funding towards staff and room hire to support befriending and signposting services for older members of the community, particularly the weekly club and where some clients have more complex needs.
Harrogate Hospital Radio	1170	Funding for radios to lend to lonely in-patients in the Harrogate area hospitals.
Inspire Youth Yorkshire	3000	Funding for staff and overheads towards free weekly youth activities.
Jenny Ruth Workshops Limited	3000	Funding for staff and travel costs to offer workers with learning disabilities outreach opportunities, including sales at local shows, visits to stockists and delivering talks to other local groups.
Jenny Ruth Workshops Limited	1500	Funding towards Jennryruth branded t-shirts and fleeces to provide new workers with learning disabilities pride in their work, and being able to represent the organisation at events.
Kairos Network Church	1000	Funding for a second-hand trailer and new security locks, for taking unusual bicycles to events to encourage confidence in cycling, ensuring the organisation no longer has to borrow a trailer.
Knaresborough Museum Association	1500	Funding towards travel, overheads, and display stands to take displays to sheltered accommodation and residential homes to engage those who would not otherwise be able to visit the museum.
Knot Another Choir CIO	3000	Funding towards staging for local inclusive community choir, which will also raise income for the group by being hired out to other community groups.
Lifeline Harrogate	2400	Funding for fruit and veg boxes (subsidised by the provider) to provide a healthy equivalent to crisis loans for food, to people who have recently experienced homelessness and are now accommodated in supported housing.
Lifeline Harrogate	2600	Funding for food and room hire for fortnightly lunch club, to support current and former residents of supported accommodation.
Living Potential Care Farming	1740	Funding for tools, raised beds, compost and seeds to start therapeutic sessions in the walled garden for people living with mental health difficulties.
Low Harrogate Crown Green Bowling Club	2250	Funding to buy bowls and equipment which will make the club more inclusive and to review the irrigation system.
Masham Community Office	3000	Funding towards purchasing the organisation’s premises to secure it as a community asset.
New Beginnings Peer Support	2690	Funding for staff, volunteers, materials etc for workshops looking at self, worth, boundaries and resilience, to increase the health and wellbeing of families, especially children.
Nidderdale Fell & Trail	3000	Funding for training for volunteers to become qualified in leadership and coaching in running, to allow the organisation to expand and offer more running sessions.
Nidderdale Plus Partnership	3000	Funding for three months of Digital Champion Coordinator time to continue to run project to support older people to be safe and confident online, and to stay connected.
Open Country	3000	Funding for staff, volunteer costs, and operational costs towards running an allotment and tree nursery to offer skills development, mental health benefits and social activities for people with disabilities.
Open Country	2450	Funding for staff, volunteers, accessible minibus, and allotment rent to ensure members can access mixed gardening and outdoor activities for those with disabilities or with poor mental health.
Pateley Bridge & BewerleyMemorial Hall	1000	Funding towards extending a local social event by opening for longer, and to offer hot food for the first time as part of the group becoming a warm space, for older people in a rurally isolated area.
Pinewoods Conservation Group	2410	Funding towards tools and PPE to create a new volunteer group to care for the woodland and to support volunteer’s health and wellbeing.
Reflect	2800	Funding for staff, volunteer costs and overheads to publicise support and to increase face to face sessions for people experiencing pregnancy and baby loss, and for those seeking post-termination support.
Ripon City Festival Trust 1986	1800	Funding to support teenagers to engage more with their local community and to address self-care and mental health, by experiencing live theatre themed around wellbeing, taking part in drama workshops and volunteering to encourage other young people to take part in the Festival.
Ripon Disability Forum	2940	Funding to set up a website, particularly to create an interactive route mapping tool, that people with disabilities can design their own travel routes into and around Ripon and the surrounding area.
Samaritans of Harrogate and District	3000	Funding towards volunteer expenses, operational costs and overheads for organisation seeking to reduce the number of people dying by suicide.
Supporting Older People CIO	2940	Funding for staff, DBS checks are publicity to recruit and train befriender volunteers to support older people, and to start a new social group for older residents.
Taking Baby Steps CIC	2530	Funding for staff, travel expenses and sundries to be able to run community drop in groups as a pilot in rural areas, for parents facing pregnancy loss, baby loss, or peri- and post- natal mental health problems in more rural areas of the Harrogate district.
The Trauma Centre Community Interest Company	3000	Funding towards staff to support the running of heavily subsidised self-help evening classes for people with mental health difficulties, which would help reduce the need for more intensive therapy.
The Wellness Gateway CIC	3000	Funding towards staffing, to set up trial Wellness Hub to offer mental health support and signposting in Ripon and surrounding areas.
Village Voices Killinghall	640	Funding for keyboard and accessories to be able to keep rurally isolated village choir running for years to come.
Wellspring Therapy & Training	3000	Funding towards volunteer travel expenses, to be able to offer more counselling sessions and reduce waiting times for people to support people with poor mental health, experiencing family problems and more.