North-east community projects call for support in Calor Rural Fund voting
Community spirit is proving stronger than ever, with a record number of over 600 projects entering this year’s Calor Rural Community Fund, which offers grants of up to £5000 for heart-warming projects across the UK.
With 604 entries in total vying for a cash injection from this year’s £85,000 prize pot, Calor’s fund has now moved to the next stage.
From today until July 16, communities can get behind their local cause by supporting them online via communityfund.calor.co.uk and spreading the word far and wide to help them reach the final shortlist.
Whether the project is for new kitchen facilities at a village hall, a new playground for a rural primary school, or a new roof for a local church – everyone has the same opportunity to support their favourite projects, with points allocated for likes, shares and pledges towards a particular project.
Once public supporting has taken place, the projects with the highest engagement score will make it through to the finalist stage, all of whom will then be reviewed by a panel of impartial judges. Those causes in the running could be eligible to receive a grant of either £1000, £2500 or £5000.
Head of Corporate Affairs at Calor, Andy Parker said: “We are delighted to see that, despite recent events, the community spirit is thriving across the UK.
"With over 600 entries, this is a record for the Rural Community Fund which is now in its fourth year.
“Now, more than ever, we’re passionate about continuing to show our support for these off-grid projects as we’ve seen the kind of transformations these vital cash injections can provide for their local areas.
"We feel it’s important to put these entries out for public support so that the nation can help to decide where this funding should go this year.”
Local entries cover a range of projects and include:
Macbi Community Hub in Mintlaw who wish to add a youth room to the community centre.
The Community Hub has now been running for six years and has gone from strength to strength but has picked up during this time that there is not a youth area in Mintlaw.
The youth project is working to raise funds to allow them to add a youth/community room to accommodate the ever-growing demand for new and existing activities in Mintlaw which is surrounded by several disadvantaged villages.
In Turriff, Friends of the Den are looking to add new play equipment to the popular playpark.
Playing in a park provides the opportunity for every child, as children will naturally play with others on the same equipment.
The group have to date successfully fund raised to establish five pieces of inclusive equipment and some equipment for toddlers and now aim to provide a slide and playdeck for all children.
Cuminestown locals are seeking to improve the toilets at the hall.
Without this project it is limited as to what can be held in the hall as the toilets are currently very outdated and difficult for disabled people to use.
If they were to be upgraded then more groups and events would be able to be held in the hall.
A new sensory garden is the target for Alford Mens Shed
Existing village clubs for whom the space can be accessed on foot will prove much more convenient and central than the new Alford Community Campus, which is very well equipped for youth, but ill-equipped to deal with the needs of these clubs and special needs groups.
