The Walney Extension Community Fund announces the last round of funding awards for 2024 and ends the year on a high seeing a huge £679,037 being shared by 31 deserving projects.
Since the Fund launched in 2016, 276 individual projects in coastal communities in Cumbria and Lancashire have shared a massive £5,127,269 through the main Walney Extension Community Fund and its dedicated STEM Skills Fund.
Fifteen organisations have been awarded funding in the latest round of funding sharing over £268,544.
Emma Toulson, Head of Stakeholder Relations for Ørsted, said: “What a fantastic year for the Walney Extension Community Fund! We’re so proud to have supported over 30 projects in 2024, and hope 2025 brings more brilliant applications.”
One of the latest groups who have been awarded funding are Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company who are to receive a grant of £35,706 to assist with the salary costs of three Youth Workers for a 2-year period. The Youth Workers deliver the group’s Youth Programme which provides clubs for 50 to 70 young people every Tuesday and Thursday for four different age groups from 4years to 18years. The Youth Programme also provide one to one mentoring for children who need it and provides numerous volunteering opportunities.
Deborah Hargreaves, Manager at Marsh Community Centre Charitable Company, said: “Thank you so much, this grant will mean we can continue to run our youth groups and help the young people on the estate have a safe place to enjoy.”
Also celebrating news of their grant award is The Hospice of St Mary of Furness who will deliver a two-year project to develop a sustainable, early intervention bereavement support programme, with and within the communities of Millom, Furness and South Lakes.
On hearing they had been awarded £24,830, Lynsey Lawson, Compassionate Communities Team Lead at St Mary’s Hospice, said: “Supporting the development of Bereavement Champions is essential to building a compassionate and resilient community where no one has to face loss alone. Bereavement Champions help bridge the gap between isolation and connection, offering comfort to those in need and strengthening our neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools and the community as a whole. We are so very grateful for the generosity of the Walney Extension Community Fund in helping us to not only support those coping with loss but also to cultivate a lasting culture of care and resilience for generations to come.”
The full list of organisations awarded grants from the latest round of funding are as follows:
The fund is made possible by Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind, which has constructed one of the world’s largest operational offshore wind farms, Walney Extension, off the Walney Island coast in Cumbria. Each year, approximately £600,000 will be made available for community projects for the expected 25-year lifetime of the wind farm.
The fund is being administered by national grant-making charity GrantScape and more details can be found at GrantScape’s website www.grantscape.org.uk or by calling 01908 247634. The next closing date for applications is 10 January 2025.
