To thank the local community for helping when we left customers and businesses without water on the Isle of Sheppey in July, we opened a Community Grant fund to support many of the hardworking charities and volunteer groups in Sheppey. We recently visited Sheppey to meet the charities that residents voted for, and to hear about how they will be using the funds.
Nearly 10,000 votes were received from the community
We asked Sheppey residents to nominate their preferred charity via social media for a project or volunteer-led group for funding. In total, 58 were nominated via the Sheppey Community Fund page of our website, with some of these receiving many nominations. Then we asked you to vote for your top five from a shortlist of 12. Thank you to everyone who voted. We received 9,530 votes in total!
Hearing from one of the top five charities – Curly’s Farm
Curley’s Farm was one of the top five charities receiving the most votes and a grant of £3,000. Kyle Ratcliffe, Curly’s dad and head of the charity, said the grant would make a positive impact on the work they do with some of the most vulnerable people in the community. He thanked the community of the Isle of Sheppey for supporting this charity.
The other four charities receiving the £3,000 grant are Castle connections, Freedom Centre, the The Salvation Army - Sheerness and South east 4x4 response. Congratulations to all five of these amazing charities.
How charities were nominated and the Top 12
All the appropriate applications were assessed and scored according to the number of nominations received from the public, the number of beneficiaries supported, their support for vulnerable groups in Sheppey and the charity’s involvement in assisting during the loss of water supply. We drew up a shortlist of the top 12 which have each received a donation of £500. They are (in alphabetical order): Age UK – Sheppey, Castle connections, Children & Families, Citizens Advice Swale, Curley’s Farm, Freedom Centre, Kent wildlife rescue service, RNLI Sheerness Lifeboat, Sheppey Matters, South east 4x4 response, The Harmony Therapy Trust, and The Salvation Army - Sheerness.
Giving additional support to those working with the Sheppey Community
We also wanted to recognise the great work and assistance given in the community by other organisations. We therefore also gave support to Queenborough town council, Kent Search and Rescue (lowland), Sheppey first responder, Swale Pride Festival, Festival of the Sea and the Sheerness Town team. Our outreach team were pleased to attend and support Swale Pride Festival, and our volunteers helped support a beach clean with the Sheerness Town team, clearing a total of 65kg of litter from the beach. All households on the Isle of Sheppey also received a £20 voucher.