The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group has announced the first recipients of its £30,000 Community Fund.
Grants of between £150 and £1,500 will support six projects that will benefit communities on the Isles of Scilly and in West Cornwall.
They include:
- A project to help support a fundraising cycle ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise awareness and money for the Alzheimer’s Society and support the memory café on the islands
- Tents and cooking equipment for Guides and Brownies groups on the islands.
- Support towards replacing the 150-year-old leather bellows on the St Mary’s Parish Church organ, built by renowned maker Henry Willis
- A creative literacy project working with children on the Isles of Scilly, Mousehole, Newlyn and Penzance, taking the history of Royal Mail Ships as inspiration
- Helping convert St Erth’s Christmas lights to low-energy LEDs
- Support for the charity Young Enterprise to deliver hands on enterprise and financial education programmes in schools in West Penwith
Terry Ward, chairman of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group’s Community Fund, said: “We are delighted to be supporting such a diverse range of projects on the islands and in West Cornwall and look forward to following their progress.
“As a major local employer the Steamship Group wants to give something back to the communities we serve and we have been really impressed by the strength of community spirit that has come through these projects.“
Applications to the Community Fund are open to voluntary groups or charities, schools and education establishments, community clubs or societies, and individuals undertaking not-for-profit projects for the benefit of the wider community.
Full details, eligibility criteria and application forms are available from the Steamship Group’s website and there will a further round of projects announced later this year.