TEN COMMUNITY GROUPS ENJOY £20,000 WINDFALL

Over £20,000 has been awarded to ten community and voluntary groups in north Norfolk, following the latest round of grants from the Victory Housing Community Fund.

Initiatives ranging from installing cavity wall insulation at a community building to purchasing outdoor gym equipment for a playing field, from contributing to the running costs of a Good Neighbour Scheme to training a volunteer to become head groundsman at a local cricket club, are amongst the ten grants, which range in value from £262 to £5,000.

The latest round of grants means that the Fund has handed out 126 grants totalling £347,035 since it was established in 2008.

The grants were awarded by a panel of Victory residents, advised by the grants team at Norfolk Community Foundation, which administers the Victory Housing Community Fund.

The organisations receiving support were:

• North Walsham Town Council, which received £5,000 to contribute towards the costs of a play area on Woodville, an open space off Hadfield Road
• North Walsham Dementia Support Group, which received £3,117 to contribute towards core running costs, equipment and transport for members
• Hempton Parish Council, which received £3,000 to enhance a play area by adding an additional item of equipment
• Great Ryburgh Playing Field, which received £3,000 to purchase outdoor gym equipment
• Higginbottom Recreational Charity in Briston, which received £2,385 to install cavity wall insulation at its well-used community building
• Norwich Diocesan Play Van, which received £2,000 to contribute towards the operational costs of this project which delivers play opportunities for pre-school-age children in rural communities
• Head-Space in Cromer, which received £983 to cover venue hire for a year for a new group supporting people with obsessive compulsive disorders
• Neatishead Community Gym, which received £716 to make repairs to equipment and purchase new equipment
• Wroxham & Hoveton Good Neighbour Scheme, which received £500 to assist with the running costs of the scheme
• Norwich Cricket Club, which received £262 to train a volunteer to become head groundsman at the club

“We are delighted once again to be giving a significant sum in grants to ten very deserving local community and voluntary groups,” said Victory Housing Trust chief executive John Archibald. 

“This time there is a real diversity of projects and initiatives which the grants panel has decided to support, which just goes to show the variety of grassroots organisations which make our communities tick.”

Sharon Moore of Great Ryburgh Playing Field, said, “We are so grateful that the panel agreed to support our project. We cannot wait to order the equipment and start getting our village fitter and more healthy.”

Full details of the Victory Housing Community Fund can be found at www.norfolkfoundation.com.