Northern Rock Foundation

Hartlepool charities have received a major boost with almost £380,000 being awarded to projects in the area in the latest round of grants announced by the Northern Rock Foundation. It is the largest sum given to any area in the North East and Cumbria in this series of grant awards.

Hartlepool MIND has received £93,015 to help with core costs for a project which supports people with mental health problems, an issue which affects 1 in 4 adults in the UK at any one time. Help that Hartlepool MIND provide includes practical advice, support and skills development, self help groups and the project will also help people access activities in the local community.

Another project to benefit is the Hartlepool Citizens Advice Bureau who received a grant of £174,412 to provide advice on housing issues. It is focused on helping people to find and maintain a home.

Over £120,000 goes to Community Campus 87 ltd who work with vulnerable homeless groups with a history of drug and alcohol abuse and have seen tremendous success through their work.

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 the North East and Cumbria 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 Hartlepool MIND 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).