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SURREY CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE FUND NOW OPEN FOR GRANTS OF UP TO £25,000

5th June 2020

The next phase of funding will focus on the most pressing needs of Surrey’s most vulnerable people

The Coronavirus Response Fund, established by The Community Foundation for Surrey to get urgent funding to local charities quickly, has grown to more than £1.3 million over the past 10 weeks and will now be awarding grants of up to £25,000. These larger grants will ensure key voluntary organisations will have the capacity to meet the surge in demand as lockdown restrictions ease.

The Community Foundation for Surrey, which brings together local donors with those providing positive solutions to the issues facing Surrey, is working closely together with organisations across the county to identify crucial areas where the support from our community will be most needed.

The Coronavirus Response Fund will give priority to voluntary organisations providing support to the most vulnerable and isolated, including:

  • Older people and those who are self-isolating due to underlying conditions People with disabilities
  • People with mental health needs
  • BAME communities
  • Victims of crime such as domestic abuse
  • People experiencing financial hardship;
  • and Families with young children

Laura Thurlow, Chief Executive of The Community Foundation for Surrey says:
“With the generosity of our community, our Coronavirus Response Fund has helped hundreds of voluntary groups quickly navigate the sudden challenges of lockdown. Now, as we look ahead, it’s important to anticipate what our community groups will need going forwards. The need is still now, and the issues we have identified call for us to come together to meet the imminent surge in demand. We must ensure services continue to be delivered to our most vulnerable people. This is a crisis that continues to require solutions and we’re urging Surrey residents to stay involved and donate.”

The value of taking action early:
Anticipating the emotional toll of isolation, The Community Foundation for Surrey has already awarded over £118,000 to mental health organisations in Phase 1 of their emergency response funding.

Joy Wright, founder of Emerge Advocacy, a charity offering mental health support to young people in crisis says it was this “insightfulness” of the Community Foundation, in anticipating the need for mental health services and awarding grants quickly, that ensured that Emerge Advocacy could continue delivering its services.

“We really are running at capacity at the moment in terms of the amount of support that we’re able to give, despite the increase in demand. We’re really grateful to the Community Foundation that they were so responsive and made the process so streamlined. They trusted us to know that we’re still going to do our best for young people; sure we’ve had to pivot but we’re still going to be doing what we’re set up to do in the midst of everything. And that has been crucial to the young people we work with.”

The Community Foundation for Surrey knows that early positive action makes all the difference for many vulnerable people, and is urging Surrey residents to continue to donate to the Coronavirus Response Fund so those who feel the effects of the pandemic more severely and for longer can continue to access much needed support.

The £1.3 million figure includes £530,640 from the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal, and more than £800,000 in donations from generous local donors and partners. This concerted effort has ensured the Community Foundation has been able to quickly award emergency funding to 146 community groups reaching more than 94,000 beneficiaries across Surrey.

You can find an outline of eligibility requirements and how to apply to the Coronavirus Response Fund here.

Families with young children

4th June 2020

Coronavirus
Response Fund

Families with young children

Apply for a Grant
Donate Now

We have to date awarded £54,620 to support families with young children from our Coronavirus Response Funding.

Last year there were an estimated 38,130 children in Surrey living in households with at least one of the ‘toxic trio’ (alcohol/substance misuse, domestic abuse, mental health problems).[1]

The term ‘toxic-trio’ refers to:

  • Alcohol/substance misuse
    Children in households where an adult has a drug or alcohol dependence
  • Domestic abuse
    Children in households where an adult has experienced violence or abuse from a partner in the last year
  • Mental health problems
    Children in households where an adult has a clinically diagnosable mental health condition

These have been shown to put children at notably greater risk of immediate harm as well as having a detrimental impact on their later life outcomes.

In Surrey, it is estimated that 8,820 children live in households where a parent is suffering alcohol/drug dependency, 13,590 children live in households where a parent is suffering domestic abuse and 26,730 children live in households where a parent is suffering from a severe mental health problem(s).

There are over 90,000 lone parent households in Surrey.

August 2020

Children and Young People

Young people have been severely impacted by lockdown restrictions and many daily activities have been unavailable during this time. School closures have led to many young people learning from home with altered daily routines, less contact with friends and cancelled exams. Many young people have struggled to learn online and stay focused whilst feeling isolated and unable to engage in their normal avenues of support. Leisure activities that matter to young people have seen a slower ease of lockdown restrictions, with youth clubs, sports clubs, church groups, parks, skate parks and leisure facilities being some of the last facilities to reopen. Whilst the need to control the virus has understandably led to the closure of such facilities it has limited the recreational choices for young people during a time of unease, stress and anxiety. That said, in general, young people have also been able to react quickly to the ever-changing world and virtual communications that many older people have struggled to comprehend.

“The crisis will most affect those young people who are already vulnerable and disadvantaged”.

For young people who have complex home lives, Covid-19 has brought extra difficulties as they have no respite from family tensions, and these tensions themselves have been amplified by the restrictions and pressures, both social and financial brought about by Covid19. Some young people have seen much needed face to face mental health support appointments and contact with other supportive adults cancelled or changed and have needed to engage virtually. This has added potential barriers to openness, honesty and trust; all of which have needed to be overcome to allow full engagement with the young person involved.

“The abrupt closure of schools has brought about increased stresses upon children, particularly amongst year 6 students who have missed out on opportunities to say goodbye to teachers and classmates, and also not taken SATs, along with missing transition preparations and visits to prospective secondary schools. Covid-19 is likely to heighten the impact of the transition these pupils face, and lead to many Year 6 children feeling anxious and apprehensive about the here-and-now, in addition to their next chapter.” (see https://mcrmetropolis.uk/transition-years-and-the-lockdown/ for more details).

Laurence Guinness, chief executive of the Childhood Trust, advised ‘that children with special educational needs are…particularly hard-hit. For those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), for example, the loss of extra tuition and their set routines has been “catastrophic”. Some parents said their children’s development had already slipped back by as much as a year.’ (bbc.co.uk ‘Coronavirus: Children ‘developing post-traumatic stress’ from pandemic’).

June 2020

What we are hearing:

Many charities are reporting to us that there has been a significant increase in demand from families with young children with need for items such as medication, nappies, baby bottles and equipment, baby milk, and toddler food being particularly sought after.

Stripey Stork is a Surrey-based organisation that distributes much-needed baby products to families with young children. They advised us:

“Last week one of our referral partners had to advise a family, down to their last few nappies, that they should use tea towels and sellotape as nappies. Fortunately, we were able to supply nappies to this family, but we know there are many families in a similar predicament. These families could not afford to stockpile; they are living hand to mouth. Stripey Stork believes that every baby deserves the same start in life, and therefore we want to continue to supply toiletries and baby necessities for local families in need.

In addition, we are aware of the many families with very few resources to entertain and educate their children who are now home full time. Therefore, we are also supplying activity packs for children.”

We are now preparing bulk crisis packages for referral partners to reduce unnecessary travel and ensure our partners have all the supplies they need.”

“As prisons look to release pregnant women we have also been contacted by a charity supporting pregnant women in prison looking for the basics these ladies will need to care for their babies.

“We anticipate that the demand for our crisis packages will only increase over the next two months.”

Home-Start East Surrey also anticipate that referral rates will be high when the country enters the recovery phase of the pandemic:

“We are aware that there has sadly been an increase in reports of incidents of domestic abuse and we believe a steady increase in requests for support will be made.

Overall Covid-19 is having a profound impact on all the communities we work with, the majority of which are in areas that are already significantly socially deprived.  We expect the numerous disadvantages experienced by many of the children we see to be increased or worsened (e.g. their inability to access key stages of their education impacting their life chances in the longer term; the impact of post-natal depression upon the babies of mothers suffering with this; financial hardship impacting upon the physical and emotional health of children).

We believe that we will need to offer more and more varied support over the next 6 to 12 months as the impact of isolation and lack of access to support due to social distancing continue”.

Home-Start East Surrey are planning a number of projects to help their families get through the challenges of the next few months.

Below are the grants we have awarded locally to support families with young children.

CharityProject DescriptionAmount Awarded
Total£54,620
Change of SceneCore costs for a charity supporting disadvantaged young people to receiving training and education
£4,000
Home-Start East Surrey
A contribution to core costs for charity supporting disadvantaged families with young children during the Coronavirus pandemic£5,000
Home-Start Elmbridge
Funding for a specialist Family Support Worker to help struggling families with parenting and mental health support amid the Coronavirus pandemic and lock-down£5,000
Home-Start Guildford
Funding toward the essential running costs of an organisation, based in Guildford, that offer a home-visiting support service for targeted families with at least one child aged 6 or under, during the Covid-19 pandemic
£5,000
Home-Start Runnymede and Woking
A contribution to core costs to a charity supporting disadvantaged families during the Coronavirus pandemic£5,000
Home-Start Spelthorne
Contribution to salary costs to enable help and support to be given to families with children under 5 via remote methods during the Covid-19 crisis
£3,000
Home-Start Surrey Heath
Funding toward the essential running costs of an organisation, based in Surrey Heath, that supports families with a child aged 5 or under, that are struggling to cope, during the Covid-19 pandemic
£5,000
Home-Start Waverley
A contribution to core costs for a charity supporting families with young children facing wide-ranging difficulties during the Coronavirus pandemic
£5,000
Oasis Childcare Centre (Oasis)
Funding toward the essential running costs of an organisation, based in Elmbridge, that offers budgeting support to families that have low incomes, during the COVID-19 pademic£5,000
Spurgeons
Funding toward bulk buying of essential items, for an organisation based in Elmbridge, to enable families in poverty to have food, baby items and entertainment, during the COVID-19 pandemic
£5,000
St Johns School, Holmwoods, Dorking
Funding to support disadvantaged families during the Coronavirus pandemic
£2,620
Stripey Stork
Funding toward emergency baby supplies for a charity, based in Reigate and Banstead, that offers support for families in poverty, during the COVID-19 pandemic
£5,000

Source

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Domestic abuse charity, Your Sanctuary, has been providing lifesaving support to survivors of domestic abuse since 1977. The Community Foundation for Surrey is a long-term supporter of Your Sanctuary, having awarded 19 grants to the local charity over the past 11 years.

Sanctuary for Survivors

1 in 8 people living in the UK expect to seek support from a charity or voluntary body in the next 12 months, as a direct result of challenges created by Covid-19. For more than half (61%) of these people, it will be the first time they have ever sought charitable support. The Community Foundation for Surrey urges local support to alleviate the urgent pressures facing our communities.

SURREY CHARITIES DESPERATELY IN NEED OF FURTHER FUNDING

east to west is a Surrey based charity supporting over 1,000 local children, young people and their families. We learn how their effective mental health support is making a difference across Surrey.

Building relationships and growing with our young people

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Coronavirus Response Fund distributes a further £100,587 in the latest grant awards

15th May 2020

A further 24 charities have benefited from grants awarded from our Coronavirus Response Fund, totalling £100,587. This brings the total amount awarded from the Fund so far to over £645,000!

It is thanks to the generosity of local people, businesses and funding from the National Emergencies Trust Appeal that we have raised over £1.2 million to date. This is enabling us to distribute much needed funds to charities, so that they can continue to support our local communities during this challenging time.

Below are just some examples of how these grants will make a difference to the lives of people in Surrey:

Momentum Children’s Charity provides invaluable support to children and their families suffering from cancer and other life-limiting conditions. Because of the crisis, many of their face to face support services have ceased. A grant was awarded to enable remote counselling sessions for the charity to continue to deliver their services to vulnerable children and families isolating in their homes.

“We are so grateful to the Community Foundation for Surrey who have awarded us a grant to help us respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. This generous funding will go towards the provision of online counselling sessions for families and also pay for media tablets for 5 families, helping them to stay connected and access much-needed help and support from our Family Support Team.”

– Bianca Effemey, Founder and CEO, Momentum Children’s Charity

Farncombe Day Centre provides social activities and entertainment to local older people living in Farncombe, Binscombe and Ockford Ridge. A grant was awarded for their ‘Meals on Wheels’ service catering for vulnerable clients having to isolate at this time.

“Since the start of the lockdown, we have changed over from our normal in-house service to delivering meals to our user’s homes. By using our own staff and volunteers to produce and deliver the meals, we have not only been able to provide a hot lunch and pudding to many vulnerable and elderly local people each weekday, but we have also been able to stay in contact with them to keep an eye on their wellbeing and to help with other issues.”

–  E.W. Hislop, Chair of the Executive Committee, Farncombe Day Centre.

The remaining 22 grants can be found here:

  1. Citizens Advice Surrey Heath received funding to buy IT equipment such as laptops, licences and phones to enable staff to support communities who would have otherwise been isolated during lockdown
  2. College of St. Barnabas, a residential care home operating in Tandridge, received funding towards the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment to continue their services safely
  3. Disability Arts in Surrey received funding towards project costs for an online support package for their disabled and isolated clients
  4. Friends of the Elderly were awarded a grant to help isolated and elderly people safely pay for their essential shopping deliveries with the purchase of wireless card readers, which could be used safely from the residents’ doorsteps
  5. Home-Start East Surrey were awarded a contribution towards essential running costs to enable their work supporting disadvantaged families with young children
  6. Home-Start Guildford received funding towards their essential running costs to continue their support service for targeted families with at least one young child
  7. Leonard Cheshire Disability obtained funding toward the purchasing of Personal Protective Equipment for staff, specifically the charity’s local care home in Godalming
  8. New Life Church, Woking received funding towards emergency supplies for their foodbank, supporting vulnerable local people
  9. Peterson’s Fund For Children, a charity based in Elmbridge, received two grants towards the purchase of food, and specific items for children with cystic fibrosis at this time
  10. Rape Crisis Surrey and Sussex received funding for IT provision enabling secure, encrypted online counselling rooms to assist the support of rape and abuse victims
  11. Runnymede Foodbank received funding to move to a telephone triaging service of need, assisting them to distribute goods to local disadvantaged people
  12. The Samson Centre for Multiple Sclerosis received funds to provide essential online physiotherapy for sufferers of MS
  13. South West Surrey Domestic Abuse Service received funding to support children cope with feelings of isolation and emotional stress through online recovery sessions
  14. St Johns School, Holmwood’s in Dorking, received funding to support disadvantaged families through phone contact and deliveries of food, games and prescriptions
  15. St Marks Community Centre secured funding for their foodbank to meet the demand for their services to support disadvantaged people across Waverley
  16. Stopgap Dance Company in Waverley received funding to bring together children with physical disabilities and help them to learn to dance through online classes
  17. Surrey Community Action were awarded a grant towards their essential running costs to support their coordination of the Voluntary Community and Faith Sector in Surrey
  18. Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum were awarded a grant towards the salary of an employee, to offer a befriending service, that brings together people for whom English is not their first language
  19. Surrey Welfare Rights Unit received funding for essential running cost support to carry on helping individuals and other charities across Surrey with financial advice
  20. Synergy Dance Outreach received funding to create remote dance and yoga sessions for the Visually Impaired and Blind
  21. Westway Community and Well Being Centre in Tandridge received a grant towards expenses to allow them to run an outreach hub to support vulnerable and elderly residents
  22. Woking Strokeability received funding towards online exercise classes that help rehabilitate people that have suffered from strokes

 

There is still great need

Charities across Surrey have had to make major changes in how they operate as a result of the Coronavirus. This is an uncertain, challenging and often alarming time for a lot of charities and organisations. We are listening to our community and many of their key issues and concerns include significant loss of event and community fundraising income, as well as loss of self-generated income – including from the delivery of training, hiring of community buildings, café facilities and other enterprises.

We are incredibly grateful for all donations that we have received so far. However, there is a real need to sustain important organisations, so that their vital services can continue for vulnerable communities, both during and after the crisis.

If you would like to donate to the Fund, you can do so via the secure online Virgin Money Giving page and by direct bank transfer. If you would like to donate via bank transfer, please contact Laura Thurlow on 01483 478086 or email Laura@cfsurrey.org.uk.

If you are interested in applying for Coronavirus Response Funding, please read the eligibility guidelines and apply online here.

SURREY CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE FUND REACHES £1 MILLION

28th April 2020

Laura Thurlow

The Community Foundation for Surrey urges people to continue to donate as Surrey’s charities face increased demand.

The Surrey Coronavirus Response Fund, established by the Community Foundation for Surrey, has reached the remarkable milestone of £1 million raised. The Foundation, which brings together local donors with those providing positive solutions to the issues facing Surrey, has already distributed more than £600,000 from the emergency fund.

Laura Thurlow, Chief Executive of The Community Foundation for Surrey says:

“The generosity and response of our community to this crisis has been extraordinary. This milestone is the clearest example yet of what our community is able to do when we come together. And whilst this is definitely good news, the reality is there are still hundreds of groups who are in need of funding. I am certain this £1 million milestone will inspire those of us in Surrey who can help, to donate now so we can keep on helping and plan for the crucial next stage of support.”

The £1 million figure includes £326,700 from the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal, and more than £717,000 in donations from generous local donors and partners. This concerted effort has ensured the Foundation has been able to quickly award emergency funding to 122 community groups reaching more than 90,000 beneficiaries across Surrey.

Funding needs continue during uncertain times

These emergency grants have been used by charities to cover unexpected expenses. Sarah Beasley, Scheme Manager at Home-Start Runnymede and Woking, and her team were surprised when they discovered many families lacked simple basics for their children, such as craft materials, pens and paper:

“Our family support worker offered to bring around some colouring books for the children. And the mum said, ‘OK, yeah, that’ll be great. But we don’t have any crayons or pens.’ And that was when it really hits us that actually so many families don’t have anything. So what we’ve used some of our [grant] funding for is a whole load of resource packs.”

The urgency has also seen the charity, which supports families with young children through their challenging times, distributing its Christmas donations in April due to the sudden need for toys and games. Sarah Beasley continues:

“Obviously that will be a challenge when it comes to Christmas. But we just thought, actually, this is where the real need is now. It’s the kind of decision that needs to be made straight away – and we just have to do it.”

Other charities are finding themselves unexpectedly struggling to meet their essential running costs during a period of increased demand. Jen Clay, Fundraising and Partnership Manager at Oakleaf Enterprise, a mental health charity based in Guildford and serving Surrey, says:

“The £5,000 grant from The Community Foundation for Surrey, from the emergency fund, that was one of the very first grants we received. And I remember it being such a moment of hope, because to be honest, that was at the start where we really were concerned whether Oakleaf was financially going to make it through this.

We don’t know when the lockdown is going to lift. We don’t know when fundraising will resume. We expect a shortfall of £100,000 this financial year, which for us a small charity is huge. We need to make sure that our core costs are covered so that not only can we be there during this crisis, but we can also be there on the other side when we’re only going to see an increase in the need for our services.”

Laura Thurlow continues:

“So many of our community groups have had their fundraising efforts put on hold whilst demand for their services only continues to increase. We are grateful to everyone for the amount we’ve raised, yet we know we need to keep looking ahead to that next milestone. Together we can make sure that this emergency fund is there for our community’s charities even beyond the lockdown – just as they have been there for so many in Surrey during this crisis.”

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have estimated that charities across the UK stand to lose £4 billion in 12 weeks as a result of the crisis.

Charity and community groups interested in applying for Coronavirus Response Funding, can find the eligibility guidelines online and apply online here. Applications can be made either by filling out a short online form or by selecting a time for a telephone interview with a CFS volunteer.

To donate
 
Donations to the Fund are collected securely online through Virgin Money Giving and by direct bank transfer.

A list of additional grantees is available here.

Coronavirus Response Fund distributes £150,360 in next grant awards

24th April 2020

Sonya Allan

A further 33 local charities and community groups have benefited from our Coronavirus Response Funding from the latest round of grant awards, totalling £150,360. These grants have been made available to help the county’s most vulnerable people during the Coronavirus pandemic.

It is thanks to the generosity of local people, businesses and funding from the National Emergencies Trust Appeal that we have raised a staggering £970,000 to date.

The fund, which has been set up to support the inspiring local initiatives who are getting food to our most vulnerable, supporting our most isolated elderly residents, and adapting other vital services to ensure people with the highest needs continue receiving the help they require, has awarded out over £550,000 in grants.

Below is just one example of how these grants will make a difference to the lives of people in Surrey:

Stripey Stork received funding towards emergency baby supplies to continue their work offering support for vulnerable local families. Based in Reigate, the charity collects donations of toys, clothes and other essential items for babies and children and, after checking they meet current UK safety standards, rehome them with local families experiencing hardship.

The Foundation awarded Stripey Stork their first ever grant of £1,400 to assist in setting up the baby bank, back in 2013 and has supported their work ever since.

Stripey Stork has been able to respond to an additional 532 requests of help since the crisis started thanks to vital emergency funding.

“We really appreciate your support. It makes such a difference when we know the funds will be administered by the Community Foundation – we trust that you know the area, the challenges and the up to date stats. You keep up to date on the work local groups are doing. It has to make a huge difference in making sure the funds get to the right place.”

Nicola Dawes – Founder and General Manager, Stripey Stork

The remaining 32 grants can be found here:

  1. Bloomin’ Arts received funding towards their essential running costs to continue their work supporting adults with learning difficulties
  1. Brightwells Gostrey Centre received funding to provide a delivery meal service to the elderly and isolated in the Farnham area
  1. Caterham Foodbank received funding to support the increase in demand for the foodbank, serving local people
  1. Challengers received funding for IT support to enable their work supporting disabled children and young people to continue at this time
  1. Citizens Advice Waverley were awarded funding to implement IT solutions to enable them to continue supporting vulnerable people in Waverley
  1. Citizens Advice Woking received funding for IT equipment and increased salary costs to assist their work supporting vulnerable Woking residents
  1. Community Debt Advice (CDA) received funding to support their team to work remotely, and extra salary costs for working overtime, to continue their debt advice service to local residents in times of trouble
  1. Coronavirus Aid Chelsham, Farleigh and Warlingham received funding to support their work helping vulnerable people at this time. The group provide subsidised food boxes to those on low incomes, a delivery scheme for shopping and prescription collection, as well as welfare calls and visits to lonely residents
  1. Crossroads Care Surrey received funding towards the purchase and first years’ rental cost of a VOIP telephone system to continue their work supporting unpaid carers across Surrey
  1. East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services received funding to upgrade their phone system to enable their work supporting victims of domestic abuse remotely
  1. Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre received a contribution towards their essential running costs, to continue their work supporting people with dyslexia
  1. Home-Start Epsom, Ewell & Banstead received funding to continue their work supporting vulnerable families across East Surrey
  1. I’m all ears received funding to provide 190 hours of free counselling to people in Waverley who are struggling during the Coronavirus pandemic
  1. Oasis Childcare Centre were awarded funding towards their essential running costs to continue their work offering support to families on low incomes that has been exacerbated by the crisis
  1. Parity For Disability were awarded funding to meet staff costs to help the continuation of their work supporting adults with profound disabilities
  1. Peer Productions received funding towards online classes to teach young females with learning disabilities about online safety
  1. RASASC Guildford received funding to convert their service to remote working; the charity supports those who have suffered from rape and sexual abuse
  1. Relate Mid-Surrey received funding for salary costs and Zoom licences to transition from face to face counselling to online counselling services
  1. SeeAbility received funding for an Advice Line for Carers working during the Coronavirus pandemic, to continue their work supporting people with sight loss and disabilities
  1. SHIFA received funding to continue their work supporting vulnerable and isolated Asian women across Woking, via online help sessions
  1. Sight for Surrey received funding for IT and phone costs to continue their work supporting people with sight and hearing loss
  1. Spurgeons received funding to support bulk buying of essential items, to enable vulnerable families across Elmbridge to have food, baby items etc.
  1. St Catherine’s Hospice received funding towards their essential running costs to provide end of life care to patients across East Surrey
  1. Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership were awarded funding towards additional mentoring support and a bursary to pay for online learning platforms. The charity helps unemployed adults back into employment
  1. Tandridge Voluntary Action received funding towards overtime salary costs, to co-ordinate the rise in volunteer activity at this crucial time and to support local volunteers
  1. The Artventure Trust Ltd received a contribution to their salary costs to continue their work offering arts-based activities for isolated people with disabilities in Guildford
  1. The Lightbox in Woking received costs to deliver arts-based support to elderly, isolated and vulnerable clients during the outbreak
  1. The Lucy Rayner Foundation was awarded funding to provide free counselling for those struggling during the outbreak; the organisation works to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms around depression and mental-ill health
  1. The Sunnybank Trust received funding towards activity packs and provision for a radio show to continue supporting adults with learning disabilities at this time
  1. Woking and Sam Beare Hospices received funding towards the salary of a temporary member of staff working at the hospice, based in Woking
  1. YMCA East Surrey received funding to produce online exercise programmes for people with health conditions, whilst isolating during the Coronavirus pandemic


More donations needed

It is thanks to the generosity of local donors that we have been able to launch this local response Fund. We are incredibly grateful for all the donations received so far, but we are still urgently seeking further contributions. More vital funding is needed to continue to support the level of urgent requests for support we are receiving.

If you would like to donate to the Fund, you can do so via the secure online Virgin Money Giving page or by direct bank transfer. If you would like to donate via bank transfer, please contact Laura Thurlow on 01483 478086 or email Laura@cfsurrey.org.uk.

If you are interested in applying for Coronavirus Response Funding, we encourage you to read the eligibility guidelines and apply online here. Applications can be made either by filling out a short online form or by selecting a time for a telephone interview with a CFS volunteer.

Coronavirus Response Fund distributes £144,917 in next grant awards

14th April 2020

We are delighted to share that we’ve supported a further 31 local charities and community groups in the next round of grants awarded from our emergency response funding, totalling £144,917. These grants have been made available to help the county’s most vulnerable people during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The fund has been set up to ensure quick and responsive grant-making for the community and voluntary groups assisting in the relief effort, and we’re proud to announce that the total funding awarded from the Surrey Coronavirus Response Fund to date is over £450,000!

Since launching this urgent appeal a few weeks ago, we have raised £950,000.

This figure includes a recent contribution of £100,000 from Surrey County Council, close to £600,000 contributed by local donors, along with £188,100 allocated to us for distribution in Surrey from the National Emergencies Trust Appeal.

Below are just some examples of how these grants will make a difference to the lives of people in Surrey:

Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice provide critical care to local people. They received a grant for essential running costs to increase their capacity and support additional patients and families at this time. This funding will support the costs for 2 additional beds on their In-Patient Unit in Farnham, additional staffing, housekeeping, maintenance and Personal Protective Equipment.

“We are so grateful to Community Foundation for Surrey who have awarded this generous grant for £5,000 to help us respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have been able to reopen all of our beds on our In-Patient Unit, so this money has enabled us to support more people in our local community who need end of life care, which also helps our local NHS hospitals.”

– Sarah Church, Chief Executive of Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice

Foodwise (TLC) Limited were awarded funding for project costs to provide cooked meals to disadvantaged families, older and isolated people in Guildford. The organisation is working with Stoke Community Support and three local schools to operate kitchens at Emmanuel Church and Burpham Church to feed families during these challenging times. The meals are delivered for free and to those most vulnerable in the community.

Transform Housing & Support provide housing and support for homeless, vulnerable and excluded people, that can face challenges such as mental ill-health, disability, a history of offending or substance abuse. They received funding towards personal protective equipment to carry out their service safely to clients. These clients often have no support network other than their Transform key support worker.

The additional 28 grants can be found here:

  1. Age Concern Epsom and Ewell received funding towards equipment to enable remote working and the recruitment of more volunteers. This grant also supported costs for the charity to extend the opening hours of their service that supports vulnerable older people
  2. Big Leaf Foundation received funding for their project supporting Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children that will involve interactive accessible activities for young people during the lockdown
  3. Caleidoscope CIC received funding to provide support online and by phone for children with Special Educational Needs, autism and co-morbid conditions
  4. Catalyst received funding to support vulnerable local people struggling with addiction
  5. Caterham and Warlingham Citizens Advice Bureau received funds for mobile phones, phone credit for volunteers and support for essential running costs to support their work assisting disadvantaged people
  6. Citizens Advice Runnymede and Spelthorne received funding for a new phone system to continue their service supporting vulnerable local people
  7. Cobham Area Foodbank were awarded funding towards the purchase of food stock for their food bank, to be able to meet the increase in demand for their service at this time
  8. Dramatize Theatre Company received funding towards salary costs that will support their work producing online content for adults with learning disabilities
  9. East Elmbridge Foodbank received emergency relief funding to purchase food and other basic supplies
  10. Eikon received a contribution towards their ongoing work supporting vulnerable young people – Hugely grateful to CFS for coordinating/mobilising/awarding grants so quickly and providing Surrey charities with much needed support. Extremely appreciated by Eikon, thank you.
  11. Epsom & Ewell Citizens Advice Bureau were awarded funding towards extra salary costs and the cost of ensuring their staff can work from home
  12. Generation Church were awarded funding towards a foodbank in Epsom and Ewell, supporting vulnerable local people
  13. Halow Project received funding towards the purchase of equipment to support counselling and learning activities for young people with learning disabilities
  14. Haslewey (Haslemere & District Community Centre) received support for the staff costs at their community centre providing support to vulnerable people of all ages in Haslemere
  15. Home-Start Runnymede and Woking received a contribution to essential running costs for their work supporting disadvantaged families
  16. Jigsaw (South East) received costs to provide remote support to grieving people across Surrey
  17. Merstham Community Cafe CIC received funding towards subsidising meals for vulnerable local people at this time
  18. Mid Surrey Community Fridges received funding for essential running costs to continue their work delivering food parcels to disadvantaged and/or isolating people
  19. North Guildford Food Bank received funding towards the purchase of food stock to meet the increase in demand for the food bank
  20. Personal Independence Support CIC received funding towards their work supporting children and young people suffering from domestic abuse
  21. Possibility People received essential running costs for the continuation of their work supporting people with long-term health issues –Thank you CFS for keeping our Get Set Surrey project going so it can carry on doing it’s brilliant work! A participant said: “I am surrounding myself with the positive affirmation exercises daily in this surreal time of isolation. Thank you for your continued support.”
  22. Reigate & Redhill Live at Home Scheme received a contribution to the costs of continuing to support older people during the pandemic
  23. St Martins Church Camberley received funding to support local people facing hardship
  24. St Mary’s Church, Ash Vale received funding towards the purchase of emergency food provisions to distribute to vulnerable people in the community
  25. Surrey Coalition of Disabled People received funding to purchase electronic tablets for isolated people with disabilities to access community services and support during this time
  26. Surrey Sands received essential running costs to continue their work supporting grieving parents in Surrey effected by the Coronavirus pandemic
  27. The Grange Centre for People with Disabilities received funding for equipment for staff to be able to work from home to continue their work supporting people with disabilities
  28. Woking Age Concern received essential running costs to continue their work supporting isolated older people

We need further support

We are incredibly grateful for all donations that we have received so far, however the needs are huge and growing every day as our community groups continue to respond accordingly.

Our goal is to not just reach more grantees, but to also increase the amount they receive. It is essential that this fund is able to provide repeat funding to the initiatives having the biggest impact for our most vulnerable people.

If you would like to donate to the Fund, you can do so via the secure online Virgin Money Giving page and by direct bank transfer. If you would like to donate via bank transfer, please contact Laura Thurlow on 01483 478086 or email Laura@cfsurrey.org.uk.

If you are interested in applying for Coronavirus Response Funding, we encourage you to read the eligibility guidelines and apply online here. Applications can be made either by filling out a short online form or by selecting a time for a telephone interview with a CFS volunteer. More information on how to do this can be found here.