Two community projects in West Cumbria have received a financial boost from a charitable fund set up by a local engineering firm.
The Shepley Group Fund was established in 2009 by Whitehaven-based Shepley Engineers Limited to give grants to small, volunteer-led or community groups helping people facing disadvantage.
The fund, managed by Cumbria Community Foundation, has given out more than £125,000 in grants since then. The latest awards were to Child Bereavement UK and Workington Transport Heritage Trust.
Child Bereavement UK were awarded £2,000 to provide support for bereaved families in the Workington area, including one-to-one sessions, parental training and school awareness.
The national charity has a hub in Carlisle and currently offers outreach child bereavement services in Workington two days a week. The grant will enable them to increase this to three days per week.
A representative of the charity said: “We believe that in order for families to thrive they must have strong support networks. Therefore, with the funding, we would also like to deliver an in-person training session for school staff to attend, helping them to understand a child’s grief behaviours, how to have challenging conversations and how to support children in their schools.
“We will run a further session for parents and carers to help build their confidence in supporting a grieving child.”
Workington Transport Heritage Trust received a grant of £750 towards the cost of running a heritage bus rally on Whitehaven Harbour this weekend.
Trust secretary Alistair Grey said: “Volunteers work all year to improve the mechanical condition of the vehicles. The event allows them to showcase the vehicles to the local community, while also benefiting the economy.
“There will be lots of buses on show running free services around the town, to St Bees, and further afield, with a frequent park-and-ride service from Lakes College. The free event features a display of locally restored and preserved buses including several Leyland Nationals built at Lillyhall.”
Ryan Christie, Operations Support Manager at Shepley Engineers Limited, said: “The Shepley Group are delighted that our fund with the Cumbria Community Foundation is able to support even more local organisations.
“Both Child Bereavement UK and Workington Transport Heritage Trust align to our social value strategy which outlines our commitment to supporting small voluntary and community groups and organisations to enable them to continue or expand their work in advocacy, community voice, and service provision for local people in the areas we operate.”
Annalee Holliday, Head of Grants Practice and Programmes at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We are so grateful to The Shepley Group for enabling us to support projects across Cumbria which make a real difference to local communities.”
Cumbria Community Foundation gives around £7 million in grants a year to local charities and voluntary groups through over 100 grant making funds set up by generous businesses, individuals and families.
To find out more about setting up a fund and supporting those in need in Cumbria, contact Development Manager Caroline Adams on 01900 820825 or email caroline@cumbriafoundation.org.
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