2023 charity and community round up

During 2023 our Community Fund was able to support 11 charities and community groups from across South Yorkshire with a total contribution of £2,500. Since our Community Fund was launched in 2014, we have helped over 80 different charities, contributing a cumulative sum of over £30,000. We hope to continue helping these smaller, local groups throughout future years.

You can find out about each of the good causes below and what the donation was used for.

We started out the year donating to Theodora Children’s Charity in January which went towards the cost of a four-hour Giggle Doctor visit to patients at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The donation covers Giggle Doctor fees, travel, training, equipment such as props and costumes and programme coordination. Theodora Children’s Charity help children living with illness, disability, and serious health challenges to feel better using laughter and take some of the weight off the parents for a short time whilst they watch their child smile and play, often the first in a long-time.

Hallam FM Cash for Kids applied for a donation to their cost-of-living crisis fund which was set up in January 2023 to provide emergency essentials to support physical and mental wellbeing of children and families who are struggling with food, clothes, and heating. We made the donation to cover the cost of grants for three children and their families. Hallam FM Cash for Kids is a grant-giving charity helping the children who need it most across South Yorkshire.

We also donated to Whirlow Hall Farm Trust as they were looking for funding to develop and improve their outdoor areas near their education buildings to provide learners with horticultural opportunities. Whirlow Hall Farm Trust support children who may struggle in mainstream education by creating opportunities to learn outdoors. The donation went towards the costs of sleepers to create beds where learners can plant produce and learn to grow their own food.

We were happy to be able to donate a translator to St Wilfrid’s centre who are a day centre for homeless, vulnerable, and socially isolated adults in Sheffield, and provide them with a supportive, welcoming, and compassionate environment and a sense of belonging. The translator is being used in their Skills for Living programme to help their clients live with greater independence and confidence. The translator can translate sounds and photographic signs / menus in different languages, translate the text and read back to the user.

In June we donated to Buttons Cat Rescue which allowed them to purchase a nebuliser. They needed one to provide urgent medical support to the cats in their care. Soon after it was purchased, they were able to take a kitten home who had been fighting a viral infection due to having access to the nebuliser. Buttons Cat Rescue are a self-funded foster-based rescue operating in Barnsley and rely on donations and fundraising to help rescue, rehabilitate and re-home as many abandoned, stray and feral cats and kittens as possible.

Light Peer Support is a mental health charity based in Sheffield who support women and their families during pregnancy, birth and for the first two years of their child’s life. They currently send out a welcome pack to all registered users when they first contact Light to promote wellbeing and self-care. The welcome packs include affirmations, tea bags, face mask, shampoo / hair mask, and pictures etc. We were able to donate the cost of packs for 15 women.

Fulfil the Wish requested a donation to go towards their programme of activities and experiences for children and young people with physical and/or learning disabilities. Our donation was used on a booking with the WetWheels Foundation where they took a two-hour trip out on a fully accessible boat from Whitby harbour. They regularly provide activity and sightseeing holidays, bringing happiness, smiles and memories for the children and their families.

We were happy to be able to donate just over £200 to Barnsley Hospice for a social worker to be able to attend a palliative care social worker course to help provide the best possible care to their patients. Barnsley Hospice provide specialist, palliative and end of care life to local people living with a life-limiting illness and those close to them. Their care strives to improve the quality of life for all patients.

In August we donated to FoodCycle who run two projects in Sheffield to feed the hungry and lonely in our local communities with delicious meals and good conversation, using food that would otherwise go to waste. People can enjoy a free, three-course nutritious meal and vital social connection. We covered the cost of a three-course meal for 30 people, which covers venue hire, staff costs, kitchen equipment, volunteer recruitment and training.

We also donated to Sick Children’s Trust who were raising money to replace ageing washing machines and tumble dryers in Treetop House, one of their ‘Home from Home’ provisions. Treetop House is based in Sheffield Children’s Hospital and is accommodation for families with seriously ill children. The families have access to somewhere to stay, cooking equipment so they can cook their own meals and wash their own clothes, knowing that they aren’t far away from their child in hospital.

Our final Community Fund donation of 2023 went to Read Easy Sheffield who provide free, one-to-one reading coaching to adults in Sheffield encouraging confidence and more opportunities for employment. We were able to support with costs for coach training and a set of manuals to use with their readers.

Interested local charities and community groups, which meet the criteria, can apply for a Community Fund donation here.