Northern Rock Foundation

Charities in Darlington, working with homeless and vulnerable people have received a major boost of over £380,000 in the latest round of grants from the Northern Rock Foundation.

One of those charities is First Stop Darlington who are a frontline service based in the centre of the town. They have been awarded almost £140,000, over three years, to help the charity set up an activities and training programme to get homeless people interested in doing something positive with their lives.

Project Director, Tracey Freeman said “First Stop Darlington is very excited about the funding it has received from Northern Rock Foundation as it will enable us to provide support to our clients who have been long-term unemployed and need extra help to begin looking at their prospects and how they might be able to move forward towards employment.”

An award of almost £138,000 has been made to the 700 Club which provides accommodation for homeless people in Darlington to help it set up a bond scheme. For many homeless people, the costs associated with securing accommodation in the private rented sector are beyond their means. Bond schemes replace the upfront cash deposit that landlords ask for and instead guarantee to pay the cost of any damage to the property.

“The pressures we all feel in the current economic climate are felt most acutely by those who have the least, and this money will enable significant numbers of people who cannot afford the bond on a property to cross the bridge from homelessness to the security of a home within the private rented sector. On their behalf, we would like to express our gratitude to the Northern Rock Foundation.” said  Dr John Elliston MBE, Chairman 700 Club.

There is also a grant of over £112,000 to the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre in Darlington which will help this well-run and well-respected service to continue its very important work. Supported by 20 highly trained volunteers the Centre conducted 1,250 counselling sessions last year.

Commenting on the recent grants Penny Wilkinson Chief Executive of the Northern Rock Foundation said “The Foundation was really impressed by the way charities and the local authority work together in Darlington to provide help to some of the most vulnerable people in the town. It’s a real example of how working together can make a difference and the projects we have been able to support are doing excellent work to address front line issues which are affecting the community.”

These are 3 of 15 awards totalling over £1.5 million made by the Northern Rock Foundation in its latest round of grant making. A full list of all the grants made is included with this release.

Notes to editors

A full list of grants is attached- please contact Hilary Florek for further details 0191 2844054 – 07831 552624 hilary@hilaryflorekpr.co.uk

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 12 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 a minimum of £15m this year 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.