Community groups benefit from Gatwick funding

Community groups across the south-east of England have received funding from Gatwick Airport.

A total of 16 groups from Surrey, East and West Sussex, and Kent have received the financial boost, which will be used to pay for staff, core costs, or to launch new services.

The London Gatwick Foundation Fund was set up in 2016 to award funding to local groups that work to fight social isolation, tackle disadvantages, develop skills, improve health, and support children and young people.

Jim Sloane, from beneficiary Ardingly Village Club, said: "[The money] will bring food and support to many families suffering from the cost of living and to people who live alone and are lonely."

In Sussex, Wealden Citizens Advice received £10,000, Horsham Matters got £5,000, Parkfield Equine Solutions in Hurstpierpoint benefitted from £4,900, Ardingly Village Club received £4,620, and Burgess Hill Pantry got £4,110.

In Surrey, Citizens Advice Tandridge District got £8,000, Hourglass Safer Ageing and Renewed Hope Trust, both in Reigate and Banstead, received £5,000, The Jam Place CIO in Mole Valley benefitted from £4,300, The Grange Centre for People with Disabilities, also in Mole Valley, got £4,000, and Kingswood Shetlands and Friends AAT CIC in Tandridge received £3,000.

In Kent, Paddock Wood Community Advice Centre got £10,000, Tunbridge Wells Volunteer Community Car Service also received £10,000, Sevenoaks Samaritans benefitted from £5,000, Tonbridge Baptist Church received £3,000 for day coach trips, and Tonbridge Lions Club got £2,000 to spend on supermarket food vouchers for local families.

Every year there are three rounds of grants which are split between East and West Sussex, Surrey, and Kent.

Since it was founded in 2016, the London Gatwick Foundation Fund has donated more than £1.7m.

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