Housing Association Home Find a Home Your Home About Employment Contact Community Fund Home About us Community Fund Castles & Coasts Housing Association (CCHA) has created a Community Fund, to help enable community based groups and organisations, provide opportunities for residents living in our communities. We distribute awards from the Community Fund twice a year, and publicise each funding round in advance. We made our most recent awards in October 2021, and will make further awards in 2022. We aren't currently seeking actively applications to apply for funding. Eligible projects need to fit at least one of the following criteria and you would need to be a constituted group or organisation, which has a bank account. Would you like to find out more? For more information please contact the Customer Experience Team: Email: feedback@castlesandcoasts.co.uk Writing: Customer Experience Team, Castles & Coasts Housing Association, 3 Castle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8SY Telephone: 0800 085 1171 Summary Animation Information Leaflet Community Fund Recipients Slaley Commemoration Hall A pillar of a village community, which has proved a popular meeting place for over 100 years, has secured the funding required, to help safeguard its future. The trustees of Slaley Commemoration Hall have raised over £100,000, from local fundraising, donations and grants, to help ensure that the community hub is fit for purpose, for generations to come. Situated at the heart of Slaley village, in rural Northumberland, Slaley Commemoration Hall was in need of repair, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. After securing funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and Community Action Northumberland (CAN) they were able to invest in newer, more accessible toilets, improved storage facilities, a new boiler and structural improvements. The second phase of the project is a new extension to the hall. The Hall has now also been granted additional funding from Castles & Coasts Housing Association’s (CCHA) Community Fund, which was launched in July. The Community Fund issues grants from £100, from CCHA’s total annual amount of £10,000, to support an array of projects and activities that create a sense of community, reduce anti-social behaviour and support residents to gain employment or develop their skills, engage in health and wellbeing activities and gain access to digital and financial inclusion services. The support means that phase one of works to the Hall have been undertaken, and trustees have now launched phase two of their funding goal, which will help make the Hall more accessible, inclusive and fit for purpose, ensuring that it remains in use for the next 100 years and continues to be a very valuable resource for the community. Debra Taylor, Trustee and Vice Chair of Slaley Commemoration Hall, said: “After the success of phase one of the Hall renovations, we have now just reached our target funds to proceed with phase two, which will include a new community room extension, that will provide a much needed meeting area and small events space.” Debra added: “The extension is almost £100,000 and has been funded from local fundraising, donations and grants. The grant providers, including CCHA, have really bolstered our funds. The CCHA funding is particularly important to us, as they also provide homes in the village for local people and they are an important part of our community. “The building work will start in early 2022, in time for the Hall’s centenary celebrations in 2022. The Hall is used widely by locals for many events, including a film club, Women’s Institute meetings and keep-fit classes.” CCHA launched their Community Fund, to support the communities it works in, following the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on many groups and organisations that do great things across communities. Adam Gould, CCHA’s Head of Customer Service & Engagement, said: “The redevelopment of Slaley Commemoration Hall will provide a huge boost to generations of villagers and we’re delighted to have been able to support the project through our Community Fund. “The Fund was set up to provide financial support to community groups that help make a difference to peoples’ lives, whilst enhancing our communities. This helps to retain and sustain a real pillar of the community and is exactly the type of project that our Community Fund was set up to support.” Healthy Hopes for West Cumbria A community group promoting health and wellbeing across West Cumbria has received funding from a local housing association, to support the delivery of wellbeing sessions, across communities. Community Interest Company (CIC) Healthy Hopes Cumbria, is one of the first organisations to secure funding from Castles & Coasts Housing Association’s (CCHA) Community Fund. Healthy Hopes Cumbria was established in 2015 and is the brainchild of Viv Nichols and Kerry Manson, both of whom have a background in mental health. It aims to promote health and wellbeing amongst local people, by running weekly health and wellbeing sessions and drop-in sessions in communities, across Carlisle and West Cumbria. The weekly sessions explore a range of health and wellbeing topics in depth and encourage discussion, to promote self-confidence and peer support. Each session is two hours long; however, the group allows 15 minutes before and after the sessions, for any individuals seeking further support, to speak in private. Kerry Manson, Director at Healthy Hopes Cumbria, said: “The grant will go a long way to helping us out, by contributing to the rental fees for our weekly sessions and we are extremely grateful for the support of CCHA. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them, on behalf of all at Healthy Hopes. “The nature of our work focuses, primarily, on emotional wellbeing, whether the person is experiencing mental health issues or is simply lonely, due to social isolation. We have no specific set time on how long a person will attend our group. “Some people access it when going through a particularly bad period in their life and may only attend for 6-8 weeks. On the other hand, some people may come every week, for the duration of the project, and continue to do so. “We also provide volunteering opportunities, which help promote personal growth and self-esteem. By volunteering with Healthy Hopes, people not only gain professional experience, but also learn new skills which equip them for future employment. This support will go a long way to helping us continue to deliver this much needed service.” CCHA’s Community Fund was launched in July, with the aim of providing much needed financial support to vital community groups, that provide opportunities for residents living in its communities. The Fund issues grants from £100, from a total annual amount of £10,000, to support an array of projects and activities that create a sense of community, reduce anti-social behaviour and support residents to gain employment or develop their skills, engage in health and wellbeing activities and gain access to digital and financial inclusion services. Adam Gould, CCHA’s Head of Customer Service & Engagement, said: “We are delighted to have been able to support Healthy Hopes, through our Community Fund. “The fund was set up to identify and provide funding to organisations that go above and beyond, to make our communities healthier, safer places to live. The work undertaken by Healthy Hopes over the past six years, is a perfect example of the type of activity we want to support. “Not only are they providing a lifeline to people in need, they are also providing work experience to many, who may otherwise struggle to gain the experience necessary, to get a foot on the career ladder. We’d like to wish Healthy Hopes all the best for the future.” For any enquiries or questions please Contact Us Accessibility Terms & Conditions Equality & Diversity Privacy Policy Copyright © Castles & Coasts Housing Association 2021 Registered Office: 3 Paternoster Row,Carlisle,Cumbria,CA3 8TT