Foreshore Trust Grants To Counter Crisis
Nine projects have been selected to receive £5,000 each from the latest round of the Foreshore Trust’s small organisations and events grant programme. Much of the money will likely be spent supporting Hastings residents through the cost of living crisis, in particular making sure that they stay fed.
Funds totalling £45,000 have been given to: Education Training Consortium Sussex (ETC); Hastings Community Trust; Hastings and Rother YMCA; Karmabank; Hastings Advice and Representation Centre (HARC); Seaview; XTRAX; Emmaus; and Umbrella Sussex.
• ETC plan to spend money on the Pantry at 4-6 Dorset Place, next to HFS. Apart from feeding
people in need, ETC can guide them to further support, like access to volunteering and training opportunities that aim to help them out of poverty.
• Hastings Community Trust will invest in fresh food boxes for households who already use foodbanks.
• Hastings and Rother YMCA will use their fund for various purposes, including subsidising food, transport costs and learning materials for the Y Centre Youth Club.
• Karmabank run a community kitchen every Thursday, preparing a hearty vegetarian lunch and sending all their guests home with a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Fareshare.
• HARC’s share of funding will maintain outreach advice surgeries within Hastings and St Leonards, helping those who need support to maximise their income, stabilise their expenditure or otherwise manage their own finances.
• Seaview is planning a Seaview’s Got Talent event to showcase the hidden talents of their service users, to put together a community performance.
• XTRAX will be able to deliver additional outreach sessions in deprived areas of the town, helping to repair and rebuild neighbourhoods where drugs and anti-social behaviour undermine communities.
• Emmaus is planning a new space where their residents can reconnect with nature. This will comprise: a lawn; an area for growing vegetables; a wild garden; and decking with outdoor seating.
• Umbrella Sussex will introduce some sharing initiatives including clothes swaps, repair and mending sessions, and informal signposting to places where there is more formal support.
Cllr Ali Roark, chair of the charity committee, said: “It was great to see so many different groups putting in applications for this funding. The decision was difficult, but the successful applicants will use the money to make a real difference to our residents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. I look forward to seeing how they deliver these projects over the coming year.”
The organisations have 12 months to deliver their projects, rather than the usual six months.
• Find out more about the Foreshore Trust at www.hastings.gov.uk/my-community/foreshoretrust
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