Northern Rock Foundation

Four charities working in Cumbria have been awarded more than £350,000 in the latest round of grants which have been announced by the Northern Rock Foundation.

This brings the amount awarded to charities in Cumbria in the last six months to more than half a million pounds, including the £100,000 awarded to the Cumbrian Flood Fund.

The Ryan Smith Rising Sun Trust based in Workington has received £112,000 for the project which helps young drug users and their families. The charity was set up by Dave Smith when his son died aged only 18 from a drugs overdose.

Dave Smith said “The Drop In which has been funded by the Northern Rock Foundation is at the centre of what we do and it has been a godsend and a lifesaver for many young people. We have two reasons to celebrate because in addition to finding out we had received this grant from the Northern Rock Foundation we have just received the High Sheriffs award for work done in the community through our project.”

Another project to benefit in Carlisle is Community Projects Carlisle who will receive £45,000 for providing housing advice, Impact Housing Association, who have been granted £130,000 to support a domestic abuse project and Caritas Care Services will receive £66,153 to support ex prisoners.

Northern Rock Foundation has awarded almost £2 million to projects across the North East and Cumbria in the latest grants round which take place every 3 months.

Commenting on the awards, the Foundation’s Chief Executive Penny Wilkinson said “I am delighted to announce our latest round of grants. We have always supported those organisations in Cumbria and the North East which work with the most disadvantaged, whether they are young homeless people struggling to find somewhere safe to live, the victims of domestic violence or older people who are finding it difficult to make ends meet.”

“In our support of organisations such as the Ryan Smith Rising Sun Trust we recognise the huge value of the work they do in communities.”

“As an organisation we believe we are unique in the way we both understand and work with organisations in the charity and voluntary sector.”

Other grants made the latest quarterly grants round include £60,000 to Greater Walker Community Trust, a project for 170 older people in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne to help them combat the problems of social isolation.

In Sunderland, Tyne and Wear over £50,000 has gone to help Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project and in Durham City , Centrepoint, a project for homeless people has received almost £100,000 to set up Lifewise, a series of life skills courses to help 16-25 year olds handle issues such managing debt, sexual health and cooking and nutrition.

Ends

Northern Rock Foundation is a charity and company limited by guarantee with an independent Board of Trustees that makes all decisions on governance, finance and policy. The Foundation aims to tackle disadvantage and improve quality of life in North East England and Cumbria. The Foundation’s work is delivered by a professional staff team of 14 based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Foundation was established when Northern Rock demutualised in 1997. Up to December 2007, the bank gave, by covenant, 5% of its annual pre-tax profits to the Foundation, totalling more than £190 million. The Foundation will receive £15 m in 2010 from Northern Rock, as part of the arrangement under which the bank was taken into temporary public ownership. Maintaining this arrangement is a condition of any sale of the bank in that period. The Government has asked the bank’s board to identify a viable long-term future for the Foundation.

Full list of funding approved in March 2010 (contact details for funded organisations are available from the Foundation on request).