Bullring & Grand Central has revealed the eight charities that have been awarded a grant through its Giving Back Project alongside the Heart of England Community Foundation.
Launched in August, the Giving Back Project is a new scheme which will see Bullring & Grand Central donate a total of £20,000 to support local groups across Birmingham that have been hit hard by COVID-19.
Hammerson, which owns Bullring & Grand Central, has launched the scheme across all ten of its flagship destinations in the UK, meaning charities across the country will receive £200,000 to help them overcome the impact of the pandemic.
The Bullring & Grand Central scheme was developed in partnership with the Foundation, who worked to allocate the grants to those in greatest need. Charities were selected based on meeting at least one of the following criteria:
- Food bank support and tackling food poverty
- Providing support services to people affected by domestic violence and abuse
- Supporting those who are homeless or rough sleeping
- Providing employment opportunities, enterprise or skills development
Stephanie Lacey, General Manager at Bullring & Grand Central, said:
“This has been a really challenging year for everyone, and we know that charities and other organisations across Birmingham have really gone the extra mile.
“This project is all about giving something back to those groups that have pulled out all the stops over the past few months, and need a helping hand to ensure they can continue to carry out their valuable work. We are so grateful for everything they have done.”
Tina Costello, Chief Executive at the Foundation, said:
“It is great to have partnered with Bullring & Grand Central and Hammerson PLC to award these eight grants across Birmingham. All the projects are doing vital work in the community and these awards will be so important to people in the city.”
Eight charities have been awarded funding so far.
Jacky Mulveen, Project Manager at WE:ARE, said:
“We are so delighted to be able to continue with our online art group for women and children who have experienced domestic abuse. Running alongside our pathway of programmes the art group is a further way of creating, connecting, being together, sharing our drawings, doodles, paintings, encouraging each other through positive comments and live zoom sessions so we can see each other and create together.”
Gillian Rose, Churchwarden at St Michael’s Church Food Bank, said:
“Funding for St Michael’s Church food bank will enable us to continue providing help to vulnerable and desperate people over the winter and well into next year.
“We have continued to see increased numbers of individuals and families coming to us for help, many of whom have never had to use a food bank before. We are lucky that we have been able to increase the amount of food that we receive from FareShare, the national charity which distributes surplus and unwanted food.”
Dorothy Forster, Managing Trustee at The Spearhead Trust at Bells Farmhouse, said:
“Being selected to receive this funding has enabled us to open more doors. We are now able to have a consistent worker to take on our befriending scheme. Following on from us having to operate a more holistic approach this Heart of England Coronavirus Resilience fund is enabling us to build good relationships with some of our previous service users and others in the community.”
To apply for the Foundation’s Coronavirus Resilience Fund please click here.