Lots of groups applied for a grant of up to £5,000 from the annual Community Fund in 2009. The successful applicants included:

• Braintree District Voluntary Support Agency – £5,000 to support the Greenfingers Gardening project for vulnerable and older people across Braintree
• First Stop Centre - £8,715 to employ the Centre Manager on a part-time basis
• Crossroads Care - £8,918 to help fund the cost of a part-time care support worker to work in the Braintree District
• Home-Start Witham, Braintree and Halstead - £4,873 to run one course for new volunteers, preparing them for home visits to vulnerable families
• Tabor Centre - £5,546 to support a Saturday morning exercise and nutritional instruction club in Braintree for carers, individuals with a disability and those with a mental health issues

Kathy Butler works for Home-Start, who received nearly £5,000 from Greenfields, to pay for a course to prepare volunteers to visit vulnerable families. She said:

“Volunteers in Braintree are now half-way through the 50-hour course and they keep coming back for more - so we must be doing something right! Not only will the course benefit the people being cared for, but it will boost the confidence and self esteem of the carers themselves. We still have places available for those in the Witham and Halstead area, so please call me on 01376 519101 if you are interested.”

The Community Fund is managed on behalf of Greenfields by Essex Community Foundation. For more information or to discuss a potential application, please call Essex Community Foundation’s grants team on 01245 356018 or visit their website www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk