Home Start South Leicestershire’s Family Post-Natal Illness project helps families affected by post-natal illness who have a child under 5 years – aiding recovery, reducing isolation and improving parent–child relationships.
Trustees acknowledged the value of this work and awarded a grant of £5,000 towards the cost of delivering the project, in proportion to the number of families living in Market Harborough, Great Bowden and Little Bowden who will benefit from the service (May 2022)
A grant of £18,000 was awarded to the Harborough Christian Counselling Service to improve access to its Bower House premises. Trustees noted that the service was available to all and that counselling sessions can cover anxiety, stress and depression, grief, bereavement and isolation.
The improvement works will provide a new ramped access to replace steps into the building and disabled toilet facilities within the building (May 2022).
A grant of £2,000 was awarded to the Market Harborough Historical Society towards the publication of the first volume of a new history of the town. Trustees noted that it had been several decades since the last seriously researched book on the same theme was published.
Since then, additional research had been undertaken and new material produced, that supported an updated history of the town (Spring 2022).
In 2022 every child attending a primary school in Market Harborough, Little Bowden and Great Bowden received a £10 book voucher from the Charity through their school. The aim of the scheme was to encourage reading, by allowing the children to exchange the voucher for a book of their choice.
Trustees were delighted to work with local bookshop Quinns to deliver this scheme. Hundreds of vouchers were redeemed for books, with the scheme closing at the end of 2022.
Feedback on the scheme from parents has been positive:
“my sincere thanks for this lovely gift to the children. The joys and benefits of reading cannot be overestimated.”
“Giving the children the chance to choose something of their own is a lovely idea and the fact that the voucher is for Quinn’s makes it even more special. I hope that this will introduce more people both to the joys of book ownership and to this excellent shop.”
“I am sure this scheme will have a very positive affect on children’s mental health at a time when children’s mental health is suffering and will make many very special memories.”
“The importance of reading for pleasure can never be underestimated and has a huge impact on children’s life chances and mental health. Book ownership is also vital for encouraging a reading culture as well as library use.”
Our news pages give examples of the types of organisations we have supported in recent years. These range from voluntary organisations, sports clubs, arts and music groups, scout groups and churches.
In all cases Trustees are keen to ensure that a significant majority of the beneficiaries or members of the groups live in the area of benefit of the Charity. They will take this into account in determining applications.
The Charity has supported several local students in further education and vocational training. It has contributed towards the cost of laptops, specialist equipment, living and travel costs to enable students to make the most of their opportunities. It has also supported a number of people to attain coaching qualifications, to help them train others in local sports clubs.
Applications for assistance are welcome from students resident in Market Harborough, Little Bowden or Great Bowden, whether living at home or away from home during their studies.
One of the specified purposes of the Charity is to help individuals and families in need. Trustees welcome applications from people experiencing hardship, sickness or distress, for equipment or facilities that will improve their quality of life.
Examples of recent offers include grants for:
The Charity has procedures in place to deal quickly with straightforward applications for relatively small amounts of money, without the need to wait for a full trustee meeting.
To encourage children to explore the outdoors and learn about the natural environment the Charity worked with the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). All primary schools in the area were offered the opportunity to run two LRWT-led Forest School programmes in 2022.
The Charity was pleased to fund the LRWT, a leading county wildlife conservation charity with trained and experienced leaders, to organise and deliver the programmes. The LRWT worked with five of the seven primary schools in the area to deliver Forest School programmes. The other two schools have their own Forest School practitioner. The Charity offered these schools direct funding to increase the number of sessions delivered.
Forest Schools take place outdoors and use natural resources to stimulate learning in a fun and engaging way through a variety of activities. They deliver a range of benefits including improving emotional and social skills, developing physical abilities, and improving knowledge and understanding of the natural world.
In response to the offer of homes for Ukrainian refugees in the Market Harborough area, Trustees considered the support provided nationally and locally and the immediate needs of refugees living in the area.
They noted that refugees must travel to major cities to complete the process for biometric residence permits – and the cost of travel from Market Harborough. To help with this immediate need, they set aside a budget to assist those facing hardship in meeting these costs. Eligible applicants could apply for a flat rate grant of £30 per person. By November 2022 18 refugees had received a grant.
Trustees agreed a grant of £5,000 in support of VASL’s Wellbeing Befriending Service, set up in early 2021. The service is aimed at adults who are experiencing mild to moderate mental wellbeing challenges and who want to improve their wellbeing.
It is based on the NHS 5 steps to wellbeing model. Support is provided by volunteers who are trained and overseen by VASL’s Wellbeing Befriending Manager (December 2021).
T@3 is a monthly tea and social event aimed at the elderly and those living at home.
A grant of £600 was awarded to assist with transport costs, speaker fees, and room hire as well as sanitiser and other covid-related equipment (October 2021).
Harborough Community Bus received a £20,000 grant towards the replacement of one of its disability-equipped minibuses.
Operated entirely by volunteers, HCB runs services for community groups and individuals who are members and who would otherwise have difficulty in getting out. The new bus was on display an HCB’s open day (September 2021).
Trustees agreed a grant of £735 in support of street theatre event Arts Fresco, which returned to the streets of Market Harborough in 2021.
Coronavirus restrictions and the need to maintain social distancing limited the number and scale of performances, but Trustees recognised the value of the event. In addition to some live events, performances were also available to view on-line (September 2021).
The Charity has worked with two local schools, Farndon Fields Partnership and Meadowdale Partnership, to fund the purchase of laptops as a gift for pupils, to support them in their learning.
Trustees are keen to work with other schools in the area to support young people who have had their education disrupted over the past year (Summer 2021).
The PCC of the Parish of the Transfiguration St Hugh and St Nicholas, Little Bowden, received a grant of £1,100 towards the cost of equipping the churches with streaming technology during covid lockdown restrictions. The churches intend to continue with this beyond lockdown as it enables those who are housebound, or unable to attend, to be able to view or be part of a service.
Trustees endorsed the public benefit in the scheme to tackle loneliness and bring people together (April 2021).
RFM Studios received a grant of £4,000 for new equipment to improve its community music hub and support the delivery of educational projects and accessible arts-based activities.
It works in partnership with local youth and community groups and schools to provide music tuition, workshops and events (March 2021).
Trustees granted £1,000 to Beacon Care and Advice. This will enable them to provide household goods and personal support, to help previously homeless and vulnerable people settle into permanent accommodation (February 2021).
Trustees funded 2 projects at Robert Smyth Academy. They agreed £1,000 for specialist equipment to set up an extra-curricular programming club, to help pupils develop their programming skills. They also agreed £1,833 for equipment to help improve the skills of pupils studying food and nutrition (February 2021).
Market Harborough Sea Cadets received a grant of £2,450 to kickstart it’s Access to Local Water project.
This enabled the purchase of 7 inflatable stand up paddle boards, which are easy to transport and can be used in training by beginners and more experienced paddle boarders (October 2020).
Elderberries received a grant of £2,500 to support the development of a community garden for the enjoyment of residents of a local care home. It is operated by a team of volunteers including retired and unemployed people. Nursery school children are also involved. The initiative teaches skills and provides physical exercise and companionship, as well as organically grown produce (2019).