| Projects We Support |
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Up until the end of April 2009, grants under the Grassroots Scheme have been allocated to the following local projects:- Pact, c/o Chelmsley Wood Childrens Centre is a Parents' Action Group who represent the views of some families within the local community. The overall aim is to influence the provision and development of services that are needed to create a good place for everyone to live. The £5,000 Grassroots Grant will enable the group to continue exising work and also to organise trips at discount prices enabling people to enjoy an outing which they would not have been able to afford. The trips have a take up of approx. 150 people per trip. Reynalds Cross School Swim Club, Olton ensures that 10 disabled young people aged 15-19 years have the opportunity to swim fortnightly. They provide a coach to develop and build confidence in all areas of a swimming activity. The £5,000 grant will be used to pay for two qualified ASA coaches for the next three years. The coaches have skills in coaching young people with learning difficulties to swim. Golf for Disabled Children at Shirley Golf Club provides twelve special schools to bring children to the golf club each summer and autumn terms for coaching in golf skills. The golf club provides coaching at the schools in the winter terms. This scheme has been extremely successful and has benefited over 1,000 disabled children in the borough. The £5,000 grant will pay for the golf professionals to continue the coaching work. Shirley Baptist Church - Youth Club Extra has been providing a youth club for ages for 7-9 for a number of years. A club for 5-6 years has now been introduced. Both clubs run on a Friday evening and are attended by 50+ young people. The £4,634 grant will enable the Church to introduce a club for young people aged 10+. Over 20 young people have expressed an interest and the Church's aim is to provide a safe environment for social fun. Time Out Saturday Club, Hobs Moat Youth Centre, Olton provides a Saturday afternoon leisure club for young people aged 14-24 years with severe learning disabilities. This provides an environment for disabled young people to participate in out of school leisure opportunities. The £5,000 grant will be used to sustain the Time out project which also gives carers a short break. Blossomfield Players, The Wardens, Widney Lane, Solihull provides entertainment for the local community including old people's groups and the opportunity for all ages to participate in the production, creation and management of theatrical projects. The Grassroots Grant of £4,800 will be used to replace and improve stage lighting and to replace the auditorium Castle Bromwich Swimming Club provides leisure swimming and coaching for all ages and offers free tuition to all members. They also arrange a range of social events and visits for members. A 'Kipper Club' has recently been introduced for younger members offering free tuition. The £3,880 grant will pay for a second coach to develop older children and adults. Shirley Little League aims to provide organised football for boys whatever their ability. They have 6 main teams of 14 boys in school years 6,7 and 8. They also have a junior squad of around 32 boys. The emphasis is on mass partipation, enthusiasm and endeavour and players are encouraged to develop team spirit, self discipline and sportsmanship. This also applies to the parents. The £900 Grassroots Grant will enable the club to purchase new kit for next session. Visually Impaired People Support Group, North Solihull offers support and information for the visually impaired and their carers to help prevent isolation and also to raise awareness about the needs of the visually impaired within the local community. They hold monthly meetings at Chelmsley Wood Library, outings to local theatres, pubs, gardens and tea rooms. The £5,000 grant will enable the group to continue to pay for transport for the outings and also to telephone members to prevent isolation. Shirley & District Sea Cadets provides young people up to the age of 18 with the opportunity for training in many skills, such as seamanship, engineering, communications, cookery and partiicpation in the Duke of Edingurgh Awards scheme. The £4,997 grant will pay for cadets to travel to naval establishments for seamanship training. Birmingham Parents' Support Group is a voluntary group of parents of gay and lesbian children who offer support to other parents and families when a family member has 'come out'. The £5,000 grant will be spent on updating the group's website and on advertising and marketing in order to publicise the support the group can offer. Solihull & South Birmingham ME Support Group - the overall aims of this group are to provide support and information to people with ME/CFS, their carers and families. Also to raise awareness of the illness and, if possible, to raise funds for biomedical research. The group organises 10 meetings a year, a quarterly newsletter and provides contact by phone and email. The latter are particularly important for people who are housebound and/or bedridden. The £4,961 Grassroots Grant will be used to continue publication of the newsletter and the provision of the meeting venues. The group are also looking to continue the provision of information packs and develop and print an awareness leaflet for circulation to doctors' surgeries and libraries. Dorridge Village Hall Association provides a local venue for the residents of Dorridge and is used by many local groups to further health, education and social needs. The £5,000 grant will be used to machine sand the floor of the main hall, vacuum and apply a badminton court. Also in a rear meeting room, the money will be used to replace existing floor covering and part fund cost of redecoration of the room and adjoining passageway to enable this room to be used for small functions. Solihull Archaeological Group raises awareness of archaeology and provides the opportunity for anyone to join and attend talks on local, national and international topics, go on trips and help on 'digs' (when available). In past years the group have helped with digs at Knowle Hall Castle Hill Farm and Elmdon Park. The £1,915 grant will enable the group to re-start a dig at Knowle Hall which is a major local site. The grant will be used to purchase equipment for excavation, measuring and recording results under the supervision of trained archaeologists. Also, the grant will be used to help with the group's running costs which will enable to keep annal membership costs low. Skills Factor Football Academy, Solihull is a soccer school for young people of both sexes and all ages. Their aim is to coach children of all abilities and from all backgrounds in its local community and do so at affordable prices. The £5,000 Grassroots Grant will be used to take an exisiting project to a higher level by paying for the hiring of floodlit Astroturf training pitches, the services of FA qualified and police checked coaches, purchase equipment and to pay for distributing leaflets to local schools. 50 + Womens Group, Smiths Wood, Solihull meets every Thursday for 15+ lady members over 50 years, most of whom live alone giving them opportunity to share experiences and participate in interesting events over light refreshments. The £4,900 grant will be used for the group to attend floristry classes at Solihull College throughout the summer holidays Mascular Disease Society, Solihull & South Birmingham Support Group was formed to support people with mascular disease (MD) by bringing together visually impaired and blind people so that they may encourage each other through advice in order to live more independant lives. The group also encourages social interaction between members and gives relevant information on the treatments, surgical procedures and aids available with respect to MD. The £3,300 Grassroots Grant will be used to enable the annual subscription to be reduced from £10 to £5 as it is felt that £10 is too expensive and excludes some people. Aso the grant will be used to reintroduce a one-day coach trip which because of financial constraints had to be discontinued. Lowbrook Stroke Club, Kingshurst, North Solihull meets every Tuesday and gives support and information to stroke victims and also to give their carers time to themselves. The £4,353 grant will be used to make mass sculptures as this pastime is seen as very theraputic and allows stroke victims to make something for sculpting. Seeds of Hope Bowling Club, Kingshurst, North Solihull provides local people the opportunity to enjoy indoor bowls which is a mild activity for all ages. The £2,580 Grassroots Grant will enable the group to continue giving members the opportunity to enjoy the activity and socialise. Barneys Babs, St. Barnabas Hall, Kingshurst, North Solihull is a mum, dad, carer and toddlers group meeting weekly in St. Barnabas Hall which is a large, child friendly environment so the children can roam and enjoy the freedom. It also gives the adults the freedom to share time toghether. The £4,995 grant will enable the group to purchase outdoor mats and equipment so the children can enjoy outdoor play. Also the money will be used for a day trip. Solihull Stroke Club is for the people who have had a stroke giving them a place to socialise, play games and quizzes, organise outing and entertainment. The Club also gives carers a respite. The £900 Grassroots grant will be used to help towards the cost of volunteer drivers. The Moat Players, St Mary's Hall, Hobs Meadow, Solihull is an amateur dramatic group meeting twice a week to rehearse and produce plays and shows for the local are. The group usually produces three productions per year with the main aim of encouraging and developing dramatic skills among the members and provide entertainment for the local community. The £5,000 grant will be used to upgrade the current stage lighting equipment and reate temporary dressing rooms. Nine Acres Drop In, Fordbridge Community Centre operates in the North Solihull area and offers a friendly and sociable environment for people suffering from mental health problems. The Grassroots Grant of £5,000 will enable the centre to offer a 3 day a week drop in facility, organise day trips, trips to the cinema, discos and the weekly hire of the Community Centre. Solihull Down Syndrome Support Club provides welfare, education and social support for 40 children who have Down Syndrome, their siblings and families. The £1,470 grant will help the group to continue with the work of a drama group to help the children with speech and language problems. The group will put on a production of The Wizard of Oz in July. 2nd Shirley Scout Group provides weekly scouting activities for 50+ young people aged between 7 - 18. With the help of the £3,718.50 grant, the group will hold a joint camp with a group of young people with severe disabilites based in Chelmsley Wood and to plan other joint activities, such as climbing sessions throughout the year. 72nd Birmingham Boys Brigade is the Solihull branch of the national organisation which exists for the overall development of young people. As an extension to the development programme, the group wish to develop a series of outdoor expeditions and adventures. The £1,545.88 grant will provide the money to buy new tents and stoves and provide map reading and route planning training via a dedicated PC with new software. The prgramme will include Dads & Lads and Dads & Daughters expeditions. North Solihull Community Festival took place on the 11th July. The £5,000 grant enabled the festival committee to show case local singers, bands on stage, provides rides and attraction for all ages. The Festival also brings together and promotes local charities, community groups and schools. If you think your group could benefit from a Grassroots Grant, please click here for more information. Previous groups supported Stiders & Strollers Club part of Dorridge Surgery PPG EU Social Fund ReCOM provides low cost computer and IT training to people who are disabled or disadvantaged enabling them to acquire skills leading to employment. The £11,805 grant will be used to fund an IT training project operating in Chelmsley Wood and Hobs Moat Libraries. The project will run between August and December 2009 and will help unemployed people to develop skills which will help them access job vacancies and gain skills for the work place. If you think your organisation would benefit from a EU grant, please click here. Latest Sport Relief Grants  Parkway Rovers Under 9’s Football Club will receive £1,000 split over the next two fooball seasons. This is a newly-formed under 9’s football club in their first season in Division F of the Central Warks League. All set up costs were provided by parents but this much needed boost to club funds will continue the club’s work in providing sporting opportunities for children in the Shirley/Dickens Heath area. The Club will also provide other activities for the children including laser quest, bowling and attending professional football matches. 
 Blossomfield Hoops Basketball Club has received a Sport Relief grant of £1500. The club caters for basketball players with ages ranging from 6-18 years, from different skill levels, social or ethnic backgrounds. The Sport Relief money will be spent on court hire and kit. If you think your organisation would benefit from a Sport Relief grant, please click here . |