Friday, 20th August, 2021
Cory Community Fund: 2020 projects update ahead of 2021 launch
In 2020 we established a Community Fund to support activities that improve people’s lives in the communities where we operate. Successful applicants received grants of up to £7,500. These organisations work to improve their local community and deliver activities for local people that are consistent with Cory’s values.
That includes making a positive impact on local people, protecting the local environment, supporting the circular economy, promoting social and community cohesion, together with diversity and inclusion, and improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematical skills.
We'll be launching the 2021 Cory Community Fund in September. If your organisation is considering applying, or if you're interested in how our Community Fund is used, an update on the organisations and projects we funded in 2020 is provided below.
Project |
Location |
What Cory's funding did |
| The Ahoy Centre - a charity that helps disadvantaged children and people with disabilities get involved in water sports. | Deptford |
Cory’s funding supported the enrolment of 23 young people on one of Ahoy’s Sailing for All Courses. During the course, young people achieved their RYA sailing qualification. The project seeks to increase confidence and self-esteem in participants, as well as building teamwork skills. |
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Groundwork London is an environmental and community regeneration charity with a mission to transform lives, places and communities in need in London. Groundwork operates REWORK, a refurbish and reuse project based at the Household Waste & Recycling Centre that Cory operates in Wandsworth, where repairable white goods are fixed by trainees who are getting back into the workplace. |
Wandsworth |
In the early months of the Covid-19 outbreak, Groundwork London pivoted many of its projects and programmes to address some the growing problems faced by vulnerable members of communities across London. Groundwork’s REWORK project provided free white goods directly to people who were shielding or otherwise struggling. The funding from Cory enabled the provision of domestic electrical appliances to 45 needy and/or vulnerable households. |
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Thurrock Play Network provides advice, support and resources for play and recreation in the community. |
Essex |
Cory’s funding supported the refurbishment of the kitchen at the Pyramid Resource Centre, which is a scrapstore run by Thurrock Play Network. The scrapstore provides materials and items (which would otherwise go to landfill) to residents in Essex and Kent to reuse and recycle. The centre also runs workshops for families, encouraging creativity and fun, supporting social, physical and emotional wellbeing. |
| The Doorstep Library Network is a community organisation that brings books and reading to disadvantaged children across Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth and Westminster. | Westminster | Cory’s funding provided support for the Lisson Green Doorstep Library project, which offers a supportive reading and home-library service to children aged 0-11. Volunteers visit the same 5-6 families, taking books to read with the children and then lend for the week. Their volunteers build supportive relationships with families (many of whom are socially isolated), increasing trust in outside services. Programmes of reactive and proactive signposting raise awareness of local events and services, resulting in greater community engagement and feelings of inclusion. |
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upCYCLE provides free bikes, cycle training and bicycle maintenance workshops for young people from minority ethnic groups. |
Lambeth |
Cory’s funding has supported the work of upCYCLE's in building a cycling community in Brixton and surrounding areas for young people from ethnic minority groups. They do this by recycling second-hand and unused bikes and either donating them to charities or using them during 'Bike Maintenance' workshops and cycle training sessions where young people get the chance to learn basic bike repair skills and earn a free bike. The bike maintenance workshops give young people from different backgrounds the opportunity to learn new skills and feel the satisfaction of fixing something. |
| Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre delivers water sports, climbing sessions and mountain biking for people of all ages and backgrounds. | Tower Hamlets | Cory’s funding supported the installation of an outdoor classroom on Shadwell Pierhead, overlooking the River Thames. The classroom will be used for work with local schools and youth club participants from across Tower Hamlets. |
| West Thamesmead Community Organisation aims to build community, enhance the local environment, and provide a voice to make West Thamesmead a better place. | Greenwich |
Cory’s funding supported delivery of three projects in West Thamesmead:
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