Gift of Education
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More InformationThe Community Fund
The Community Fund at The Leys is an initiative between The Leys & St Faith’s Schools Foundation and Wesley’s Chapel & Leysian Mission. It has been established by donations from our Leysian Community and supports charity and community projects in the Cambridge area, and in the local community around City Road in East London.
The Community Fund aims to support projects which will bring benefits to the community in the broadest sense, whether that’s a new shared allotment, a trip to the beach for children who otherwise couldn’t go, or sports equipment for a Brownie troop. So if you have an idea which you think will help those around you, we encourage you to get in touch!
Funding is available to support projects of any size up to £5,000 per organisation per year. Larger awards may be made in exceptional circumstances where there is significant community benefit – we recommend you discuss this with us before submitting an application. Small grants up to and including £1,000 will be assessed quickly following an application, and we hope to give a response within a fortnight. Grants over £1,000 are considered by the Community Fund Board made up of members of our Leysian community including Old Leysians, current Common Room, current parents of St. Faith’s and a representative of Wesley’s Chapel & Leysian Mission.
Previous Projects
In late 2021, the Community fund approved a grant to partner with Cambridge City Council to support children from low-income families to take part in sport and physical activity. Aware that without external support, many low-income families cannot afford the cost of sports clubs or classes, the Active Lifestyles team at Cambridge City Council launched their Grassroots Activities Grants. This allows children to take part in a grassroots physical activity of their choice.
The Community Fund has agreed to fund this scheme for an initial three year period, and so far the Council has received an enormous number of applications, 57 in total. The children will be taking part in activities from street dance to tennis to gym, with an average award of £140 per child. Four of the children involved in the scheme have a disability, one is a looked after child and every family qualifies for some form of income support. All but two of the children receive free school meals.
We have been amazed at the demand for the grant and it shows there is a real need in the city.
Rowan is a local charity providing an arts centre and forest school for adults with learning difficulties, with 84 students currently. In February 2022 they held their annual art exhibition sponsored by the Community Fund, featuring 150 canvases from their own students, local school pupils, and children at The Leys. For all those who took part, it was a brilliant platform to showcase their talent, and over £5,000 was raised from the sale of the 75 canvases, to be re-invested in Rowan’s work.
We are delighted that in 2023, The Leys will be providing a venue for the exhibition free of charge, as part of the Community Fund’s commitment to practical as well as financial support.
Other projects have included:-
- Support for Romsey Mill’s Blue Bag Project, addressing period poverty amongst young people in Cambridgeshire
- Support for ‘Mini-Magic’ at the Kings Hedges Family Support Project, providing activities to help children feel more confident and ready to start nursery or school
- Support for Burrough Green C of E Primary School’s ‘Save our Swimming Pool’ fund, to get their on-site pool up and running again after the Covid-19 lockdowns.
- Provision of IT equipment for local debt charity the Cambridge Money Advice Centre, to enable them to continue supporting their at-risk clients through the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
- Support for ‘Leadership on a Journey: a ‘Black Lives Matter’ Exhibition and Learning Resources’ at Wesley’s Chapel in London
- Funding the launch of Cherry Hinton Scouts, making the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme available to local young people.
To read more information about last year’s Community Fund activity, please click on the links below.