East Lothian third sector groups supporting residents through the Coronavirus crisis have benefited from £25k in funding from Foundation Scotland’s Response, Recovery and Resilience (RRR) fund.
The RRR Fund was opened on 26 March and has distributed grants to help charities and third sector organisations address immediate needs in our communities.
East Lothian’s successful applicants have met a number of criteria for the funding including; meeting the immediate practical needs of isolated people; tacking loneliness and promoting positive living, wellbeing and resistance and easing the burden on statutory health and care services.
Beneficiaries are:
- £5k to Pennypit Community Development Trust to purchase food and cover additional staff costs to enable the supply of food provisions to families and individuals in East Lothian.
- £4,023 to Teapot Trust To provide professional online art therapy sessions and online resources to children and young people living with chronic physical conditions which also cause adverse mental health.
- £5k to KARELE Ltd to enable the organisation, teaching children about horse care and horsemanship, to continue their service virtually with their clients.
- £4,305 to Stepping Out to fund additional staff time to develop and run remote support groups for people experiencing metal health difficulties in East Lothian.
- £1,440 to Ridge SCIO to pay for additional hours for gardeners to support the upkeep of the Backlands Garden in Dunbar for twelve weeks.
- £5k to Musselburgh And District Citizens Advice Bureau To provide the CAB team with the equipment needed to allow them to work remotely and to continue to provide advice and support to people across East Lothian.
Councillor Jim Goodfellow, East Lothian Council Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing, said: “It is fantastic that these organisations have received funding to continue and to expand their essential support to our communities during this very difficult time. It’s amazing to see the range of support available to some of our most vulnerable people, from food deliveries to encouraging good mental health. This is all essential work at any time but particularly just now while we’re in the lockdown phase of the crisis. I would urge any other third sector groups who would benefit from extra funding to continue their excellent work, to contact us for support. Our Connected Communities Teams and Third Sector interface STRiVE are here to provide guidance to any local groups considering applying for funding.”
Advice on funding and support for the third sector can be found on the council website.
To apply to Foundation Scotland’s RRR Fund visit their website.
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations has also pulled together information on other funding streams on their website.