North Yorkshire County Council award voluntary group grants

Voluntary groups across North Yorkshire are celebrating grants awarded to them by North Yorkshire County Council for a second year.

The Council’s Innovation Fund encourages voluntary groups to identify new local approaches to transform the way adult social care services are delivered.

The aim is to develop a more flexible and personalised approach to traditional services, such as day care, by offering vulnerable people services that fit around their lives and expand the provision of supported employment and training for people with a disability.

The fund contains £1.6m to be allocated over three years to innovative projects. In the second round of grants, £630,000 has been awarded to 12 voluntary sector projects. The funding provided by the council has generated a matched investment of approximately £300,000 identified by the organisations, bringing the total investment to almost £1m.

Among the schemes six new projects will develop additional opportunities for 100 individuals with a disability to receive additional training towards employment or volunteering.

Three projects will develop community hubs, which will offer activities to older people and people with a disability and will support them in their homes. Many of the hubs will be developed in rural areas.

Cllr Clare Wood, executive member for adult social care, said:

The organisations awarded funding in the second year of the Innovation Fund will make a significant difference to many older and disabled people living in North Yorkshire.

We have been really impressed by the huge response from voluntary organisations and local groups, which have developed some excellent proposals to reach individuals and communities where the need is greatest.

The successful organisations are:

Groundwork North Yorkshire for Selby Garden Enterprise, a gardening service providing training and work experience, benefitting 40 people a year; £50,000 grant

Wilf Ward Trust for Roll With It, a social enterprise offering a sandwich delivery round in Pickering, benefiting seven to 11 people a year, £50,000 grant

Creative Support for Creative Coffee, a social enterprise running a coffee cart for roadside use, offering training to enhance job prospects, benefiting 28 people by its third year; £47,255 grant

A1 Community Works for Computer Works, a social enterprise trading in IT maintenance and repairs, web design and the sale of secondhand computer equipment, offering employment and training opportunities for 15 people in Richmondshire and Hambleton, £50,000 grant

Adsetts Partnership for Unit 3 at Easingwold, a social enterprise offering a bespoke letterpress print service, a central hub for distribution for charity shops and an ironing service, employing 26 people by its third year; £48,500 grant

Disability Action Yorkshire for short-term training opportunities in Harrogate linked to an existing furniture enterprise leading to employment or training qualifications, benefiting 40 people by its second year; £50,000 grant

Carers Resources & Care Free for All Together Now, providing innovative sessions for carers and individuals with disabilities in Skipton, with 300 places a year; £50,000 grant

Rural Action Yorkshire for Grow Your Own Community, the development of seven community hubs in rural communities across North Yorkshire, offering preventative social care and early intervention, involving about 200 people and 50 volunteers. Services may include a community café, allotments and social activity groups; £49,600 grant

Purple Patch Arts for All Together Now, a self-sustaining organisation in Harrogate and Craven run by and for people with a learning disability with groups and activities as an alternative to day care and offering a trainee programme to prepare people for work or volunteering, benefiting 108 people by its third year, £49,350 grant

Horton Housing Association for Horton Community Café, a series of community café hubs, aimed at vulnerable adults, particularly older people, as an alternative to day care, providing day-time activities based around the needs identified in the community, such as independent living skills, educational opportunities, debt management and healthy cooking, benefiting 300 people by its second year; £50,000 grant

Discussions about the allocation of grants are continuing with two other organisations.