Community development and funding

Neighbourhoods who Grow

The project focuses on a community led food distribution service. The funding will support a holistic programme that tackles food insecurity, supports health and wellbeing, delivers workshops on food growing and provides residents with starter kits to grow food at home. A gardening club will also be created where residents can learn horticulture skills and build new connections in the community.  

Sow the City

@sowthecity

Sow the City is an initiative designed to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable individuals through therapeutic gardening activities. This project will establish and run structured gardening sessions at three established community garden sites: Grierson St Community Garden, the Grange Community Garden, and Gorton Central Hub.

Fallowfield Library

Sing Yourself to Better Health is a free weekly singing activity held at The Place in Fallowfield, open to everyone in the local community. The singing sessions are led by a trained mental health worker and musician, the sessions are designed to improve breathing, lung capacity, confidence, and social connection through the power of group singing. 

The Big Life Group

Vee's Store

Vee’s Store will provide affordable food alongside Cook & Grow workshops using the community garden, and 12 monthly community meals.

The Big Life Group

Toy Hub Talking & Toy Hub Reading

Toy Hub Talking will provide weekly screening appointments for children, and workshops where parents can be coached and given the knowledge to support their child’s speech and language development while waiting for SALT help.

Toy Hub Reading will provide a lending resource of fifty bookbags from the Early Excellence Centre and TTS Alice Sharpe Take Home bags to support parents to read and sing daily with their children.  

Just Psychology

The Father and Son Project will provide weekly support groups that focus on strengthening relationships between fathers and sons from culturally diverse backgrounds. Activities will be sports related and there will also be the opportunity for discussions with the Psychologist facilitator around strategies for relationships.   

We are Survivors

@thisissurvivors

Tailored 1-2-1 support sessions for male survivors of sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation. Specialist workers will provide mental health support and coping strategies to support their wellbeing. 

The SPACE Group

@ManchesterSpace

The SPACE Group is a support group with a difference. It's run by parents and carers, for parents and carers. If you have a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), The SPACE Group offers a supportive community.

Humans MCR_

@Humansmcr

Humans MCR will be providing community grocers on wheels for the local community. One Manchester customers will be able to get a free annual membership as part of the funding.

Halle Concerts

@the_halle

Hallé Ancoats Community Choir will be delivering a series of workshops in community centres across East Manchester with the aim of enhancing wellbeing and connection for local people.

The River

@therivermcr

The River will provide a series of sessions, support services and drop-in events for the local community, including:

• weekly Food Club sessions providing affordable food to families, alongside information about local services
• domestic abuse awareness workshops, covering healthy relationships, how to parent and support children who have gone through domestic abuse, financial resilience, digital safety, and recovery tools
• weekly counselling and emotional support sessions for six weeks 
• regular peer support drop-ins, where trained volunteers offer listening support and signposting.
• distribution of emergency care packs (toiletries, food vouchers, transport passes) to families in immediate crisis.  

Angels of Hope for Women

@angelsofhopeforwomen

Angels of Hope for Women will be holding weekly coffee mornings that focus on mental health, peer support, and confidence-building. Attendees will share experiences, learn about wellbeing, and reduce loneliness.  

4CT

4CT have set up a Family Hub at The Grange to support families in Beswick with a range of challenges, including health and wellbeing, the rising cost of living, parenting skills, healthy eating, and general life skills.

Alfurqan Academy

The academy will host youth nights designed to create safe spaces for local young people to help prevent knife crime. These events will include: Knife Crime awareness workshops, peer mentoring, sports activities and counselling sessions. Delivered during weekly evening provision for young people aged 11-19.

We’re looking forward to seeing how these organisations progress with their projects. We’ll keep you updated when there are opportunities for you to get involved in the range of activities these groups are delivering.