Blog Archives

Tech Cauldron Club Receives £2000 from Gold-i Fund for Innovation

23rd November 2016

Gold-i Fund for Innovation - Tech Cauldron

The Gold-i Fund for Innovation has awarded a £2,000 grant to the Tech Cauldron Club which helps children and young people in Ashtead and Leatherhead to learn about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) in workshops and after school clubs. The funding will be used to purchase educational STEM toys, games and products for a loaning system for club members. It will also fund a team to enter the IET First Lego League competition next year. The club plans to allocate some of the funds towards purchasing advanced equipment including a 3D printer to enrich members’ tech learning experience.

The Tech Cauldron Club (TCC) is a not-for-profit organisation which promotes technology learning in the local community in an affordable way. It was founded in January 2016 by a group of parents who were passionate about technology and had children who wished to learn more than schools could offer. TCC runs extra-curricular clubs for 8-15 years olds, covering a range of activities including electronics, inventing, science, crafting and coding. Current clubs are at Greville Primary School, Ashtead Scout Hut and West Ashtead Primary School. The TCC hopes to expand into a number of local secondary schools.

Venus Shum, Founder of the Tech Cauldron Club explains

Tech Cauldron was set up to give parents a low-cost option to get their children involved in STEM learning and, to be more in touch with the physical technological world, rather than the virtual world. The clubs are proving to be very popular and are really gaining momentum. We are so thankful to the Gold-i Fund for supporting us – this is the first grant we have ever received and it will be invaluable in providing resources to help the young people in our clubs to learn about technology appropriately.

Tom Higgins, CEO, Gold-i added,

A lot of parents know that their children are interested in technology but they do not know how to encourage and cultivate this interest. The Tech Cauldron is an inspiring initiative which encourages children to take STEM subjects more seriously in a fun and motivating way. We are delighted to support them with a grant from the Gold-i Fund.
As a prominent Surrey tech-based company which regularly recruits technology specialists from within our community, we place a high value on the skills which the Tech Cauldron Club teaches. There are definitely not enough technologists coming through from schools in Surrey and the Tech Cauldron is playing a significant role in enthusing young people about science and technology.

Kate Peters, Grants Manager, Community Foundation for Surrey adds,

The Gold-i Fund for Innovation was set up to provide funding to organisations in Surrey which push boundaries or do something remarkable to benefit those in our community. The Tech Cauldron Club exemplifies this and we wish them every success as they continue to flourish.

Grants from the Gold-i Fund for Innovation are currently made up to three times per year. If your group or voluntary organisation is interested in receiving funding, please see our pages on how to apply for funding.

Similar articles

Gold-i Innovation Fund awards first grant to Mane Chance Sanctuary

Mane Chance Sanctuary, founded by actress Jenny Seagrove, is the first recipient of funding from The Gold-i Innovation Fund. A READ MORE

Leading Electronics Company steps up to support the Community Foundation for Surrey

The international supplier of customised electronics, acal plc. based in Guildford business park, has signed up to become the first READ MORE

Gold-i Innovation Fund awards first grant to Mane Chance Sanctuary

13th May 2016

Mane Chance Sanctuary, founded by actress Jenny Seagrove, is the first recipient of funding from The Gold-i Innovation Fund. A cheque for £2,500 was presented by Tom Higgins, CEO of Gold-i on 23 October 2015 to help fund bursaries for the pioneering Chance 4 Trust (C4T) Programme which benefits young people in Surrey aged 8 to 18 years who have social or emotional behavioural difficulties and are often excluded from mainstream education.

The C4T programme includes one to one therapy with a specially trained C4T practitioner and involves the young person interacting closely with the horses at the Mane Chance Sanctuary in Compton.  A pilot study earlier this year with children who had experienced high anxiety levels in some school situations resulted in very clear benefits, ranging from reduced levels of conflict to increased emotional resilience. It also had a positive impact on the horses who are in recovery at the sanctuary after being neglected, mistreated or abandoned.

On receiving the donation, Jenny Seagrove commented,

We are hugely grateful to receive the funding from the Gold-i Innovation Fund. The C4T programme is truly groundbreaking – it helps to heal our horses at the same time as helping young people in our community with particular challenges in their lives. I am so pleased that we now have the opportunity to roll the programme out to support young people who would otherwise not be able to access this remarkable form of therapy.

Tom Higgins, CEO, Gold-i added,

The Fund was established to help charities and local organisations in Surrey to push boundaries and do something innovative or remarkable. The C4T programme is hugely inspiring and I am very proud that we are able to support them with our first donation.

Mane Chance Sanctuary is a local charity which rescues neglected, mistreated and abandoned horses and seeks to bring them back to full health, both physically and emotionally. The sanctuary is located on a 47-acre site in Compton and aims to integrate the animals with the local community.