Manchester Airport’s Community Trust Fund has announced it will donate more than £36,000 to community-led projects and groups.
Among those awarded funds at the latest quarterly meeting were Abney Scout and Guide Centre, in Cheadle. The group will receive £3,000 to upgrade and improve the centre’s toilet and shower facilities, to make them fully accessible.
Elsewhere, the BLOOM Allotments project at the LEAP Children & Families Centre in Hyde will also receive the maximum £3,000 of funding. This will be used for the refurbishment of a woodshed, where the group holds community workshops. They were presented with a cheque by Cllr Bill Fairfoull, a Community Trust Fund trustee, and Jonathan Reynolds MP, who visited and toured the project.
The Community Trust Fund was founded in December 1997 and is managed by a committee of independent trustees formed of councillors from the six local authority areas which fall within the fund’s catchment area.
The airport contributes £100,000 per year to the fund, which provides cash either as a contribution to, or to meet the full cost of, not-for-profit initiatives.
Community-led projects or not-for-profit organisations can apply for up to £3,000 of funding at a time, with requests reviewed on a quarterly basis.
The Abney Scout and Guide Centre’s Carol Pimlott said: “We are so grateful for the grant, which will help towards the refurbishment of the toilets and in turn will benefit the wider community.”
BLOOM Allotments’ Joanne McColl Parry said: “We are delighted to receive this funding, which will help to create a safe, dry, inviting space at BLOOM for vulnerable adults, children, and people with a learning disability or long-term mental health condition.
“They will be able to enjoy working together, learn new skills, make friends, and support each other, as well as making projects to be proud of.”
The full list of organisations to be awarded a grant at January’s meeting, and what they will be using the money for, can be found below.
Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director at Manchester Airport, said: “Last year we celebrated a quarter of a century of the Community Trust Fund and we are incredibly proud of the lasting legacy this funding has had across our neighbouring communities. We will continue to make supporting those communities a priority.”
