A group of 19 frontline charities from the North of England, the Midlands and Wales have been announced as winners of the 2022 Weston Charity Awards. Each will receive strategic planning support from a dedicated team of business experts facilitated by pro bono charity Pilotlight, along with a core grant of £6,500 from Garfield Weston Foundation.
The Weston Charity Awards are designed to expand the services over time of the charities, which currently offer direct support to 51,000 people directly, including people facing higher costs on low income or in the context of social exclusion or disability.
Philippa Charles, Director of the Garfield Weston Foundation said:
The Weston Charity Awards were created in 2014, and have since helped 126 charities across Wales, the North and the Midlands to be effective and to grow their services for people in need. As the cost of living crisis hits families and communities, we see a critical role for small charities in key regions who are supporting vulnerable people in a range of ways. These Awards for nineteen charities are a tribute to their determination to improve lives in the toughest of circumstances.
Among this year’s recipients are charities Staying Put and Disability Stockport. Staying Put is a domestic abuse and sexual violence charity working across the Bradford area. CEO Yasmin Khan said:
We are currently in a really exciting time of growth at Staying Put. We have great ambition to extend our services to those most in need, especially around providing social housing for those fleeing domestic abuse and sexual violence. With the mentoring and support from the Weston Charity Awards, we can move one step closer to being the service we aspire to be.
Disability Stockport is a disabled people's user-led organisation run and controlled by disabled people, supporting them, and advancing equality and inclusion It's CEO Jane Bartlett said:
Having started my career with Disability Stockport seventeen years ago as a volunteer and now sitting as CEO, I am bursting with pride with what we have already achieved over the years but also recognise that in today’s world, we must plan for the long term, post pandemic, with so many people desperately needing help and support. This award will enable us to develop the right strategies for the future of the organisation, to continue for many years to come with the work we are doing, focusing on sustainability, development and growth, whilst maintaining a unique environment that is safe and welcoming for all people with a disability in the community.
Ed Mayo, Chief Executive of Pilotlight said:
An old saying is that the poor pay more. So, while the rising cost of living is a crisis for many people, it is a potential catastrophe for those who are most vulnerable. Working with business experts, the Weston Charity Awards will strengthen the charities that support people who are most at need in our society.
The full list of Weston Charity Awards 2022 winners
Wales
- Groundwork North Wales - works to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of people across North Wales.
West Midlands
- New Heights – Warren Farm Community Project - meets the needs of vulnerable adults and children in the Kingstanding area in North Birmingham.
- Ricnic - is a theatre charity that aims to empower young people by providing free access to theatre arts projects.
East Midlands
- Crossroads Derbyshire - helps women and their children break free from abusive relationships, recognise signs of abuse and build a safe future.
- Deaf-initely Women - led and run for and by deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing women, addresses the poverty of opportunities that deaf women experience in their daily lives.
North West
- Adoption Matters - recruits, trains and prepares individuals and families seeking to adopt and offers families, children, adopted adults and birth families ongoing support.
- Cartwheel Arts - promotes social inclusion, cohesion, diversity and regeneration through community participation in vibrant, innovative, high-quality arts projects.
- Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service - improves the health and wellbeing of Cumbrian communities by reducing harmful alcohol and drug use.
- Disability Stockport CIO - is a disabled people's user-led organisation run and controlled by disabled people, supporting them, and advancing equality and inclusion.
- IMO Charity - helps local young people and their families to combat disadvantage.
- Signpost Stockport for Carers - supports unpaid carers across Stockport to provide the best care possible, whilst also safeguarding their own wellbeing.
- The Boaz Trust - provides accommodation and support for people who have fled their home country and become homeless and destitute after receiving a decision on their asylum claim in the UK.
North East
- First Stop Darlington - works with a vast range of people who struggle with feeling isolated, unheard and unaccepted in our world.
- Kids Kabin - supports children and families living in low-income neighbourhoods, enabling children and young people to become more active and confident people.
- Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust - is a thriving community hub serving people of all ages from communities across North Tyneside.
- Nepacs - promotes a positive future for prisoners, offenders, and their relatives by supporting family ties at every stage of the criminal justice system.
- Your Voice Counts - empowers people including those with learning disabilities, autism and mental ill health to have choice and control over their lives.
Yorkshire and the Humber
- Muslim Women’s Council - is a proactive user-led organisation, with the aim of addressing the barriers encountered by Muslim women and their families.
- Staying Put - empowers women who have faced abuse and violence, to help them thrive, and achieve their full potential.