Day: January 25, 2016

Community groups across Brighton and Hove benefit as the first ever awards from the Brighton Pride Social Impact Fund are announced.

A dance school for vulnerable women, a sports club for older people and children playing in one of the city’s biggest parks are among those to benefit from a total of more than £4,000 of grants.

The money was raised from the tens of thousands of people who turned the city into a carnival of colour last August for the annual LGBT celebration.

Among those to benefit are the St James’s Street Community Action Group, which is made up of residents and businesses in the area. They receive £650 towards installing new trees and a planter in the area with a further £1,000 being allocated towards a project for security lighting to make Dorset Gardens, a public park in the heart of the St James’s Street area, safer for all.

Jeremy Ogden, Chair of the St James’s Street Community Action Group, said: “The St James Street LAT is delighted to receive some funds from the Social Impact Fund which we can use toward making the area a better place for all. Many of the local people are affected by Pride and it is welcomed that some of the funds raised are going back into the impacted areas and for the benefit of residents.”

Brighton education charity Little Green Pig receive £500 towards a project which sees children aged between nine and 11 make a film on the experiences of life on the streets for homeless people.

Julie Watson, co-director, Little Green Pig, said: “We are delighted! Thanks to the fund we’ll be able to make a film to capture the project our young writers are working on with Brighton Housing Trust for the Fringe Festival.”

Another group to benefit is the boccia sports group at The Manor in East Brighton. This group allows people aged over 50 in one of the poorest areas of the city to come together socially and play an inclusive sport.

Jaqui Somers, who runs the group, said: “All of our members pay a flat fee of £2 per session and this covers an hour of boccia followed by lunch. Although the class is run by volunteers from The Manor we still have to pay for hall hire. Without funding the whole £2 would have to pay for the hall and we wouldn’t be able to provide the lunch which is a massive part of the session – a chance to sit and relax and catch up which I believe is vital to a lot of our group.  This generosity means we can keep our fee at this amount knowing the hall hire is covered for longer so thanks again.”

The grants were decided by a panel made up of representatives from local media groups, including The Argus, Latest 7, Latest TV, Gscene, and Brighton and Hove Independent

The aim of the fund is to support groups or organisations who need a little helping hand in making a difference in their community.

They do not have to be LGBT related or even be directly linked to Pride, although applicants directly impacted by the footprint of the event were favoured.

The impact just had to be positive on the local community.

Paul Kemp, director of Brighton Pride, said: “2015 was our best ever year for community fundraising and by setting up the Brighton Pride Social Impact Fund we were hoping to have a greater beneficial effect on the wider community. The amount we were able to give back to local groups through the Social Impact Fund exceeded even our own expectations for it’s first year, especially given the financial challenges facing public and private sector organisations, and we are hoping to build on this in the coming years so even more worthy causes and local people benefit.”

The full awards are as follows:

♦ £600 to the Marta Scott Dance Company to help disadvantaged or abused women take part in classes with the aim of performing in the Brighton Pride 2016 parade

♦ £750 to the Friends of Preston Park for a new piece of equipment in the park’s playground

♦ £250 to the Friends of Preston Park for an Easter egg quiz and hunt

♦ £500 to Radio Reverb, Brighton’s community radio station, to help create a listen again facility

♦ £300 to the St James’s Street Community Action Group to replace three elm trees in St James’s Street

♦ £350 to the St James’s Street Community Action Group for a planter in Marlborough Place

♦ £1,000 to the St James’s Street Community Action Group towards the cost of security lighting in Dorset Gardens to deter drug dealers. This money will be ring-fenced and held by the Social Impact Fund until the group can raise the remaining money towards the project

♦ £500 to Little Green Pig, a creative writing educational charity towards helping 9 to 11-year-olds create a film on homeless people in the city

♦ £300 to the Manor in East Brighton to subsidise Boccia Group aimed at over 50s

Not all the funds available were distributed to allow further applications later in the year.