The Cambridge awards another £20k in charitable grants

March 10, 2023

The Cambridge Building Society has awarded nearly £20,000 this year to two local charities working with homelessness, as part of its Community Fund that uses money from dormant accounts.

New Meaning Foundation has received £10,000, to develop the skills, confidence, and work ethic of people who have been homeless, and to train them to build homes to house homeless people.

The Foundation has a construction workshop in Waterbeach where trainees learn on-the-job construction skills while building modular micro homes that are sold to charities to rehouse the homeless.

The funds will be used to provide paid-for work experience in carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating and tiling, for three ex-homeless people on a part-time basis over three months.

At the end of that time the trainees will have the opportunity to enrol in another programme with New Meaning Foundation, or to receive help in finding apprenticeships or employment.

A further £9,978 goes to Concrete Rose to extend its supported lodgings scheme beyond the city of Cambridge to take in Ely and St Ives.

That scheme (‘Room to Spare’) encourages individuals and families in the local community to provide semi-independent accommodation placements to vulnerable young people, aged between 16 and 23.

The grant will help fund a proportion of the work of an operations lead, as well as training costs and DBS checks for accommodation hosts and allied costs associated with marketing the scheme.

The grants are awarded through The Cambridge Building Society Community Fund, a £600,000 fund established by The Cambridge to support local voluntary and community groups with a connection to homes or housing. The fund is administered through the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, which supports local community projects.

In December The Cambridge and Cambridgeshire Community Fund announced the launch of a further £100,000 Cost of Living Crisis Fund to provide funding for local charities to support families struggling with rising energy, food and other essential housing-related expenses.

That crisis fund has already donated more than £50,000 to help local people weather the tough winter months.

Chief Executive of The Cambridge, Peter Burrows, said: “We’re delighted to award these grants to two local charities that provide much-needed support to enable people to have a safe and appropriate home or shelter, and obtain training that can help them live independent lives.

“Charities need support like never before, as the call for aid intensifies. We consider it a privilege to be able to help support their vital work in the communities in which we are located.”

John Evans, CEO and founder of New Meaning, said: “This donation will be a great help and allow us to upskill those who would struggle to get by without us.

“Young people need skills to be able to contribute to their own independence, and we rely on the generosity of organisations like The Cambridge, to help them take that valuable step.”

Operations Lead at Concrete Rose, Mike Farrington, said: “We are extremely grateful to The Cambridge for this donation, which will enable us to extend our services into other areas where it is needed.

“There is evident synergy between the two organisations as we, in different ways, both look to support others to access new homes – and we are looking forward to being able to support many more vulnerable young people through this grant.”