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Funding Update Stories

A look back on some of the projects the Board supported through Community Funding awards.

 

Updates from:

 

·       Leigh Chalmers - TEDx Salisbury,

·       Becky Thompson - Home-Start South Wiltshire,

·       David Lovibond - River Bourne Island Project,

·       Jimmy Walker - Salisbury Repair Cafe,

·       Sian Merriott - Relate Dorset & South Wiltshire

 

Minutes:

The Board welcomed previous grant applicants to update on their projects around the city, since receiving funding.

 

 

TEDx Salisbury - Leigh Chalmers

The event took place on 27 February 2020, where the theme for the evening was ‘Crossing Boundaries’. There were talks on overcoming abuse, being a survivor and not a victim, taking chances and on following your dreams.

 

There were also talks on the work taking place at Earlstoke Prison and the Pantry Partnership provided the food for the event.

 

Feedback from the Art Centre was that it had attracted a new audience with many new faces. Everyone involved was a volunteer.

 

Since the event there had been overwhelming feedback and 4000 view of the event on YouTube after the even.

 

There were plans to put on another event in the future.

 

 

Home-Start South Wiltshire - Becky Thompson

An independent charity affiliated to Home-Start UK. Due to the pandemic we moved our service to telephone support. Our volunteers now phoned or held zoom meetings with families each week. In SP1 & SP2 16 families had been supported over the last year.

 

Some of the challenge’s families were facing included, isolation, twins, post-natal depression, managing children’s behaviour.

 

Once families were referred, they were assessed and matched with a volunteer.

 

During the lockdown we had been able to deliver activity packs to family’s which was supported by Facebook posts showing ideas for activities that families could do at home.

 

River Bourne Island Project - David Lovibond

 

The whole project cost around £4000. The current bridge dated back to 1490. Over the years the open setting had become clogged up with litter and crack willows.

 

The first phase in April 2020, rubbish collecting began in readiness for the work to begin. All work was carried out by volunteers, with all work being overseen by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

 

In the autumn, the extensive phase started, where the crack willows were pollarded. Once the river flow was increased, the oxygen level also increased which in turn improved the life within the river.

The aim was to improve the beauty of the bridge and take it back to a medieval setting as it would have been.

 

Salisbury Repair Café - Jimmy Walker

 

The repair café was all about bringing the community together and sustainability. Reducing the number of items going to landfill. We had around 60 volunteers in total that helped with all aspects of running the café.

 

Those that joined us had all sorts of different skills, we had people that could repair books, electrical items, hoovers, radios, toasters, fabrics, bikes, and jewellery.

 

There were people outside the Quaker Meeting House, queueing from 9am for us to open at 10am.

 

The donations re received enabled us to have a sustainable project.

 

Relate Dorset & South Wiltshire - Sian Merriott

 

The funding was originally to train one counsellor but after we went into lockdown it made more sense to train two online counsellors, enabling us to provide even more of a service.

 

As soon as we come out of lockdown we will be out holding face to face meetings to support those that need our service.