Two Manchester charities are celebrating after being awarded grants amounting to £88,400 from Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales. The grants add to the £895,000 already invested by the Foundation in Greater Manchester during the first half of this year.
Lloyds TSB Foundation has awarded South Manchester Law Centre (SMLC) a two year grant of £40,000 to contribute to the salary of the Women’s Rights and Women’s Refugee Support Worker. Home-Start Manchester North has received a three year grant of £48,400 to fund a Co-ordinator’s salary.
Charities often find it difficult to secure funding for core costs such as salaries, forcing them to cut back on staff or close vital services. The posts being supported by the Foundation are crucial to ensuring that these two charities have the staff they need to continue delivering their services to the public.
Home-Start Manchester North has been hit hard by the challenging financial environment, and due to the huge amount of cuts the council has had to make, a contract the charity held with the council was not renewed.
Shelley Byrne, Scheme Manager at Home-Start Manchester North, says: “We deliver support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children, helping to build strong family units which are so important to the successful functioning of our society. The grant from Lloyds TSB Foundation will allow us to continue providing our services to 30 local families who are bringing up children in areas dealing with high unemployment, poor educational achievement, crime and poverty.”
Charities delivering law advice, such as the SMLC, have also had to fight particularly hard recently to keep their doors open. SMLC has been operating since 1979 and was one of the first law centres to open in England, offering advice on issues such as housing and employment. The grant from the Foundation will allow it to expand its project helping asylum seekers, to offering legal advice and support to women experiencing domestic violence.
Yvonne Taylor is a Grant Manager at Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales, she says: “This is the Foundations 25th anniversary year and we are very proud to support the important charitable work being done across Manchester. Seventy per cent of the Foundation’s funding goes towards vital core costs like salaries and overheads, if you know of a charity whose work supports disadvantaged people and needs funds to cover these sorts of costs please direct them to our website www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk.”
