Grants awarded to Ipswich voluntary groups

Published24th September 2020

Ipswich Borough Council’s Central Area Committee met on 9 September and have awarded grants that support the work of voluntary organisations across their area. 

The committee was keen to target their spending on local efforts to deal with COVID-19 and have made five grants that helps with Ipswich’s work to assist those affected.

Ipswich and District Citizens Advice Bureau will be receiving grant-aid of £8,000 from the committee to increase the capacity of speciality debt advice to provide support to a greater number of people who are experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic.

Suffolk Young People’s Heath Project (4YP) is a service to support young people with mental and physical well-being difficulties. A 1-1 drop-in in central Ipswich will benefit from the committee’s grant of £2,600.

SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, also known as the Bloodrunners, transports blood, blood products and donated breast milk to NHS hospitals and Milk Banks in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The committee donated £1,500 to support this work.

The Caribbean and African Community Health Support Forum (CACHSF) was awarded a grant of £765 that will help them provide healthy hot meals to vulnerable and isolated members of the community. CACHSF prepare, cook and deliver culturally appropriate food (a two-course meal), two days a week to their clients.

8th Ipswich Girl Guides unit meets at Christ Church in Tacket Street. It has 30 girls aged 10-14. Since lockdown they have been unable to attend their normal meetings or camps. The committee’s grant of £100 will go towards a virtual camp for 25 guides aged between 10-18 over Zoom.

Cllr Julian Gibbs, Chair of the Central Area Committee, said: “It’s great to be able to be supporting this ground-level community organisations. We have been impressed by the work they are doing and we are keen to help. From those in debt, those looking forward to a meal that meets their likes to young people who will benefit from drop-in services, and to others, we are pleased to support.”