Community projects are celebrating this week after scooping a share of a £14,000 fund set up by a housing trust established by philanthropist George Cadbury.
Bournville Village Trust has awarded the projects £2,000 each as part of its Vision fund, which each year supports community projects and social enterprises in Birmingham and Shropshire.
Winners from Birmingham include Bournville Crafty Bees, which knit and crochet for charity, Weoley Hill Community Choir, Tai Chi in the Park, and Community Fitness, which will support men in Bordesley to stay physically and mentally active.
Bournville Infant School has also been awarded cash to purchase and refurbish a de-commissioned bus which they will redesign with children and local families into a teaching and learning space.
Other projects to benefit from the cash include Randlay Colts Junior Football Club, which provides free football coaching for children aged between four to six, and Ironstone and Lawley Running Club, both in Shropshire.
Ashleigh Evans, Head of Business Improvement at Bournville Village Trust, said: “The standard of entrants this year has been fantastic and I’m sure the public, who voted for their favourites, found it a real challenge to pick the winners.
“We hope that this money will provide a stepping stone for these projects to develop their ideas and in turn make a positive and long-lasting impact in their communities.”
Julie Davis, a founding member of Bournville Crafty Bees, said: “We are delighted to win the £2,000 of funding from Bournville Village Trust, it’s a welcome boost and will provide more opportunities for the group.
“To date we have produced many items, including hats for the homeless and premature baby clothes for local neo-natal units, and brought together the local community to share skills and support local charities. There are no skills necessary to join the group, just a willingness to learn a new craft and make items for charity.”
Paul Chadderton, Club Secretary at Randlay Colts JFC, said: “We would like to thank everyone who voted for Randlay Colts to help us win the grant from Bournville Village Trust, this will make a huge difference to the Club to be able to provide free football for four to six year olds in our local community.
“We are extremely excited to be able to offer free football this year for four to six year olds using this funding and we hope it’ll secure the future of Randlay Colts by establishing new teams in years to come. Our Club and community will benefit so much from this grant, we hope to establish new teams with new kit and equipment.”
Launched in 2011, Vision provides funding to community projects and social enterprises to help them to launch or grow projects that improve neighbourhoods.
The winners of the Vision fund were announced at Bournville Village Trust’s Open View community event in Bournville on Saturday, 20 September, which was attended by nearly 700 residents of the Trust and local people.
Bournville Village Trust, established in 1900 by George Cadbury, is a housing association and charity which manages 8,000 homes and provides services to around 25,000 people across Birmingham and Shropshire.
For more information about Vision, click here.