THE Neston and District Community Fund has topped the £50,000 mark for grants awarded since the fund was established.

Set up in 2015, it supports the work of community and voluntary groups in Neston, Little Neston, Parkgate, Burton, Ness, Willaston and Puddington.

Recent success stories have included a £7,000 contribution to Home-Start Wirral for a project aimed at extending the family support work from Wirral into Neston, to support Neston families through difficult times, leading to improved outcomes for both children and parents.

The grant enabled an experienced part-time family support coordinator to work an extra day a week in the Neston area to recruit and train a team of volunteers to support a minimum of 10 families over the 12 month period.

A further £4,000 was awarded to CHAPTER (West Cheshire) Limited last year for their wellbeing workshops, targeting isolated people in Neston with severe mental health diagnoses.

The grant funded activity costs, room hire, refreshments, transport and small capital expenditure items for the activities.

Original founders Phillip Bates & Co, Rightway and Guy Tilby Engineering, who have now also been joined by The Mitchell Motor Group, are looking for more donors – either businesses or individuals – to team up with them on the fund.

Phil Bates, Principal at Phillip Bates & Co chartered accountants, said: “We are proud of the projects we have been able to support since we launched the Neston and District Community Fund, but we know there is so much more to do.

“The projects we have supported have made a useful and valuable contribution to our local community and encouraged us all to continue support and to try and expand our donor base.”

The fund is administered by Cheshire Community Foundation, which works to match charitable donors with the causes that matter most in Cheshire and Warrington.

Applicants can apply for funding from the Neston & District Community Fund but, if additional funding is needed, other CCF-managed funds may also be able to assist.

Mr Bates added: “One of the big advantages of the Neston & District Community Fund being under the CCF umbrella is that applicants have the potential to tap into funds other than our own, something that may be useful in the case of larger grant applications.”

To apply for a grant, email angela@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk or call Phil Bates on 0151 353 0003.