How a community group in Little London will benefit from the new Leeds Resilience Fund

An inner city community group which relies on grants and income to operate is set to benefit from an emergency fund created to help organisations across Leeds.
A visit by Little London Arts to Bluecote Wood Nursery at Harrogate.A visit by Little London Arts to Bluecote Wood Nursery at Harrogate.
A visit by Little London Arts to Bluecote Wood Nursery at Harrogate.

The Leeds Community Foundation has launched the Leeds Resilience Fund to support organisations facing challenges around supporting isolated and vulnerable people across Leeds, by offering urgent financial support to cover core costs, volunteer expenses, staff costs and transport.

Leeds Community Foundation is seeking donations from corporate and individual supporters so that is can distribute grants to the groups working at grassroots level across the city.

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One such group is Little London Arts, which started back in 2001 as an art class but has since developed into a group working with older people, and those who may be at risk of becoming socially isolated.

A trip to the RSPB St Aidan's site between Leeds and Castleford.A trip to the RSPB St Aidan's site between Leeds and Castleford.
A trip to the RSPB St Aidan's site between Leeds and Castleford.

It organises trips to cultural and artistic venues such as museums, galleries, nature reserves or sculpture parks but, given the current lockdown regulations, the work of the group has had to stop.

Project co-ordinator, Hannah Carey said: "The group has changed quite a lot over the years but obviously we can't run the visits at the moment. We are developing ways to maintain contacts with people. If they are not on-line, we are writing to them and hope to resume at some point but obviously we don't know when that will be.

"If we can resume, we might have to do it in a very different way. We are looking at how to do things and adapt how we do things and that might be temporary or permanent."

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Little London Arts gets most of its income from grants or a Pay As You Feel system for the trips which goes back into other activities. So without trips taking place, the group can't use that cash for other purpose.

The Leeds Resilience Fund has been set up by Leeds Community Foundation.The Leeds Resilience Fund has been set up by Leeds Community Foundation.
The Leeds Resilience Fund has been set up by Leeds Community Foundation.

Ms Carey explains: "Funders are being very understanding of the current situation but we can't take the money for what it was not intended. The Resilience Fund will enable us to carry on going as an organisation, for me to receive some income to carry on that work and it gives us that time to work out what to do and that money will be there for the activities when we can use it."

Factfile

There are around 50 people on the contacts list for Little London Arts

There are usually two trips out per month

Each visit uses a minibus taking around 15 people

Sometimes the group members meet for a casual get-together to chat over coffee and discuss forth-coming trips.

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