Felixstowe’s unique Port Community Fund has reached two milestones – it is celebrating its fifth anniversary and, at the same time, it has now awarded 100 grants worth more than £200,000.
The Port Community Fund was created in 2008 by a group of companies in and around the Port of Felixstowe, to pool their resources, support local charities and build a mutually supportive relationship with the local community.
Before the Fund was set up, the companies each provided support to a range of local causes in a largely uncoordinated manner. The Port Community Fund, managed by the Suffolk Foundation, provides a focal point for fund-raising and has proved that there is real strength and depth in numbers, raising greater amounts of money and providing stronger support for the local community than would be possible when acting alone.
“We are proud to be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Port Community Fund and delighted to have passed the £200,000 milestone,” said Alan Long, managing director of Felixstowe-based Maritime Cargo Processing (MCP), one of the Fund’s founder members.
“Over the past five years we have supported a huge range of local causes, and are proud to have made a real difference for thousands of people.”
Among the latest grants awarded by the Fund are £2,000 for Headway Ipswich and East Suffolk, to provide support for people with a neurological condition who live in or near Felixstowe: £1,000 for Autism Suffolk, to help with the set-up and running of a support group in Ipswich; £2,000 for Suffolk Cruse Bereavement Care, to help with volunteer expenses and helpline phone costs; £1,000 for Suffolk Accident Rescue Service, to help with annual running costs; and £1,000 for the Felixstowe Town Pastors, to help with radio hire, first aid training and other expenses in the year ahead.
If you are a charity or a community group addressing social need in the Felixstowe and Ipswich areas and requiring funding, please contact Julie Rose at the Suffolk Foundation on 01473 602602 to discuss the possibility of applying to the Port Community Fund.
Comments
Post a Comment