Fulham's Good Neighbourhood Service awarded £67,500 by The City of London's City Bridge Trust
Howard Lake | 14 February 2008 | News
Prepared by Rain Communications UK
FULHAM’S GOOD NEIGHBOUR SERVICE AWARDED £67,500 BY THE THE CITY OF LONDON CORPORATION’S ‘CITY BRIDGE TRUST’
The Fulham Good Neighbour Service in Hammersmith & Fulham has received a big cash boost thanks to a £67,500 grant awarded by the City of London Corporation’s The City Bridge Trust. The grant, which will be awarded over a three year period, has been given to Fulham’s Good Neighbour Service to alleviate the isolation of mainly housebound people and help them back into community activity.
Fulham Good Neighbour Service (FGNS), established in 1966 as a general social welfare charity, exists to provide services to those who are frail, elderly or disabled, or who for other reasons need help in solving problems they face. Most of the work involves practical help by volunteers, including errands, domestic support, emergencies, DIY, gardening, escorting, information and ‘Befriending’.
This is the third time that The City Bridge Trust has awarded funding to the Fulham Good Neighbour Service. In 1995, FGNS awarded £5,400 towards the cost of training volunteers and in 2002 £34,000 was awarded over a period of three years for a part time coordinator to manage an older people’s gardening and decorating service.
Says Les Tostevin, Coordinator for the Fulham Good Neighbour Service, “We were delighted when the funds were approved, it will make such a difference, enabling us to fund the part-time salary and running costs of a ‘Befriending’ support programme. This will ensure we reach even more housebound and isolated people whose mental and physical health will improve over time as a result, not to mention the improvement to their overall quality of life.”
The City Bridge Trust has awarded over £200 million to London’s charities and community groups in the last twelve years to help the lives of disabled people, children, young people and older people in London communities, as well as supporting environmental projects and the voluntary and community sector.
It is the largest, independent grant making trust in London following an Act of Parliament in 1995 which allowed surplus monies from the ancient trust (originally set up to maintain the five London bridges crossing the Thames into the City) to be spent for the benefit of Londoners, through charitable grant making. The Trust’s £620 million fund was built up over 900 years, originating from ancient taxes imposed on London Bridge.
Says Clare Thomas, Chief Grants Officer at The City Bridge Trust; “This grant application was commended by our committee and clearly demonstrates the tangible outcomes for Hammersmith & Fulham. We look forward to seeing how the Fulham Good Neighbour Service’s work will grow as a result.”
To find out more about The City Bridge Trust and its grants, charities should log onto www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
Those wanting to find out more about Fulham Good Neighbour Service should go to www.fgns.easynet.co.uk
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Notes to Editors:
The City Bridge Trust
The City Bridge Trust is London’s largest independent grant-making trust, of which the City of London Corporation is the sole trustee. Through its grant-making and strategic initiatives, The City Bridge Trust works closely with voluntary groups and charities to reduce disadvantage in London. The City Bridge Trust was set up in 1995 as the grant making arm of Bridge House Estates whose original purpose was to maintain the first stone bridge across the River Thames – London Bridge.
www.citybridgetrust.org.uk
City of London Corporation
The ancient City of London Corporation has a 21st-century role supporting the business City as the world’s leading international financial and business centre. The City of London Corporation provides local government services for the City of London “Square Mile” at the heart of London – but its responsibilities also extend far beyond the City boundaries and include paying for and running the Barbican Centre, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, and three wholesale food markets, as well as acting as the London Port Health Authority. The City of London Corporation is the sole trustee of The City Bridge Trust.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.