The Lambton Street Fellowship Centre is the most recent Sunderland based charity to receive a grant from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales. Since the beginning of the year charities in the city have received grants totalling over £124,000. The grants have been made by the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales through its Community programme to support small and medium underfunded charities that help disadvantaged people play a fuller role in their community of their choice.
Staff and young members at the Lambton Street Centre are celebrating as it will receive £39,000 over two years to support the salary of a senior youth worker. The Centre runs a busy schedule of events for young people from its premises on the Falkland Road in the west of the city. Activities include a youth club five evenings a week, a young volunteer project, a range of sports and fitness programmes and training opportunities for young people not in work or education. A recent survey of the centre’s users revealed that many young people in Sunderland are deeply worried about gang-culture, violence and public perceptions of anti-social youth. The new senior youth worker will allow the charity to expand its services to provide alternative choices to a further 1,500 people each year.
Kevin Howard, manager of the Lambton Street Centre discussed the value of recruiting a new youth worker, “They will be able to focus entirely on the needs of the young people who live in the area and deliver the facilities that are best suited to them. Lloyds TSB funding has made the appointment possible and I’ve no doubt it will make a world of difference to what we can offer to local young people.”
In June, St Mary & St Peter’s Community Project secured funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation worth £28,000 towards the salary of their project manager. The charity provides a community hub in the heart of Sunderland, running pre school and holiday youth clubs, an over 60’s group, services for disabled people, a community wellness programme including subsidised healthy food programmes, and a wide range of other activities.
The Sunderland Bangladeshi Community Centre received over £36,000 in March to cover core running costs. The grant will allow the Centre to continue providing training, advice, and community cohesion projects for the Bangladeshi community in the East end of the city.
Lloyds TSB Foundation grant manager, Peter Ellis, commented, “There is a shortage of services and activities for young people in Sunderland and the Lambton Street Centre is working hard to change that. It is an example of the lively voluntary sector that exists in Sunderland and the Lloyds TSB Foundation is delighted to support these charities’ essential work.”
The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales supports charities that help disadvantaged people to play a fuller role in the community. Local or regional charities with an income up to £1million and national charities with an income up to £5 million can find out more about the funding criteria and grant programmes at www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk.
