A £50,000 per year fund for local organisations “supporting a vibrant and thriving community” has been launched by the Elephant and Castle Town Centre and Get Living.
The “Inspiring Elephant Community” fund will support projects that work with local residents to increase community connections, improve health and wellbeing, and engage young people in training.
“We’re very excited to support the local community through this new fund,” said Ailish Christian-West, executive director of development at Get Living.
“There are so many dedicated groups that are working to bring local people together which we hope can benefit from these grants and I can’t wait to see the projects we can support.”
Local organisations will be able to apply for multi-year grants of up to £5,000 and a panel of local community leaders which includes members of the Community Hub and representatives from Get Living and Southwark Council will consider all applications.
The scheme, which will run for the next five years, is part of a broader effort to invigorate Elephant and Castle’s Community Hub, which was launched in 2019 as a place for local people in the area to come together for activities and support.
It was largely closed to the public from March 2020 due to lockdown restrictions, hosting virtual community events instead, but will reopen fully soon.
“With the new hub opening later this year, and the launch of the Inspiring Elephant Community Fund, we hope that local people will have plenty of opportunities to make friends, support each other, and come together in Elephant and Castle,” said Diana Barranco, community director at Elephant and Castle Town Centre.
“The Elephant and Castle Town Centre team has long been committed to creating new opportunities for the community, with £300,000 of donations already distributed to local groups, such as Shakespeare’s Globe, Evelina London Children’s hospital through the National Portrait Gallery’s Hospitals Programme and the Prince’s Trust,” she added.
Many local groups have fiercely resisted the redevelopment of Elephant and Castle, believing it destroys local communities and pushes people out of the area.
If your organisation is interested in applying for a grant from the new Inspiring Elephant Community Fund, visit: at elephantandcastletowncentre.co.uk or email info@elephantandcastletowncentre.co.uk