Severn Trent hands out over £130k to Community projects in Shropshire
More than 78,950 people living in Shropshire are benefitting from grants from the Severn Trent Community Fund, as £130,112 was awarded across six local projects in the last year.
Projects spanning the region have been supported by the Fund, which includes improvements of more than 16 acres of local environment.
Supported projects include Shropshire Council’s Shining Light on Stanmore Country Park which received a grant of £65,582 to support a range of improvements to enhance and protect the 40-acre park, including upgrades to paths to make them accessible, woodland management and habitat improvements.
A further £8,467 was granted to the Mother Shippon Rural Art Hub, an inclusive space which runs workshops and projects to help people learn new skills, gain confidence and improve their mental wellbeing, for improvements to its centre which will allow it to be open all year round.
Sue Heyes, Severn Trent Community Fund Advisor said: “Over the last year, the Community Fund has provided grants to a really broad range of different projects, like the Council's Stanmore Country Park improvements and Mother Shippon Rural Art Hub, which can have a genuinely positive impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of people in these communities.
“We are continually on the lookout for projects such as these which offer a genuinely fantastic service to local people but lack the necessary funding to get going. We would love to hear from any community-based organisation which feels that they have a fantastic project that would benefit from a funding boost.”
Joseph Schneider, Director, Rural Art Hub, said: “Through a playful but reflective approach we nurture participants and volunteers with diverse needs and interests to discover and fulfil their potential for creative inspiration and transformation, while raising awareness of climate change, supporting local heritage and economic development.
“This grant funding is a really important step forward, allowing us to insulate our Mother Shippon studio so that we can continue to offer our services and workshops throughout the winter and offer a warm and cosy social environment for people as energy prices continue to rise.”
The Severn Trent Community Fund launched in 2020 and is aiming to give out more than £10m over the next five years to support community projects across the region. Over the last year, the Community Fund in total has awarded £1.8m to 99 projects, with £479,000 being awarded in some of the most overlooked communities in the Midlands.
The fund is overseen by an independent Panel, made up of Severn Trent customers, who review applications and who decide where the money goes.
For more information on the Severn Trent Community Fund and to read a full copy of the 2022/23 annual report, visit stwater.co.uk and search for Community Fund.
