Wimbledon Foundation Serves Up 100th Community Grant
Funds distributed annually to local organisations
The Wimbledon Foundation, the charity of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, has awarded its 100th grant to a Merton or Wandsworth-based community organisation.
The grants are part of the Wimbledon Foundation’s £125,000 Community Fund which is distributed annually in support of local organisations to help meet social needs and reduce inequalities in Merton and Wandsworth.
The latest charities to be awarded funding enjoyed an afternoon at the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the opportunity to see last minute preparations being made to Centre Court.
Each of the 16 recipients have received grants of up to £5,000. The charities are: Association for Pastoral Care in Mental Health Merton and Sutton Branch, Battersea Crime Prevention Panel, Carers Support Merton, FAST London, Free2B Alliance, Friends In St Helier, Learn to Love to Read, Little Village, London Youth Support Trust, Merton Mencap, National Autistic Society Merton Branch, Nurture, SignHealth, Spare Tyre Theatre Company, Wimbledon Guild and Youth Legal and Resource Centre.
Learn to Love to Read is a literacy charity, established in 2014, which supports primary schools in Merton and Wandsworth by providing a trained volunteer team to improve reading, build confidence and support parental engagement.
Founder Teresa Harris said, “We are thrilled to receive new funding from the Wimbledon Foundation. Our first ever grant came from the Wimbledon Foundation allowing us to expand into a second school in 2015. This second grant will now enable us to expand our preschool ‘Sounds, Songs and Stories’ sessions to three new schools - one in Merton and two Wandsworth – taking the total number of local primary schools we are supporting up to eight.”
London Youth Support Trust will use their grant to run ‘Making It In Merton’, a Dragons Den style event for young people aged 18-30 on the Pollards Hill Estate. Fundraiser Laura Symmons said, “Through the Wimbledon Foundation’s funding we will empower young entrepreneurs from challenging backgrounds to fulfil their potential. Young people will be given the opportunity to explore enterprise, develop a business idea and plan and pitch for funding to get their idea off the ground.”
Helen Parker, Wimbledon Foundation & Community Manager said: “We’re delighted to be awarding our 100th Community Fund grant. Our Community Fund is one of several ways in which the Wimbledon Foundation is making a positive difference and helping to change people’s lives in our local community. Over the last four years we have supported a diverse range of projects tackling a wide range of social issues from mental health and wellbeing to community cohesion.”
- Representatives from London Youth Support Trust, Spare Tyre, Little Village and Nurture on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
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June 15, 2018