Still time to get a bid in for a Comic Relief grant (From Banbury Cake)

Still time to get a bid in for a Comic Relief grant

7:00pm Monday 11th March 2013 in News By Katriona Ormiston, Reporter. Call me on (01865) 425426

COMMUNITY groups in Oxfordshire have just days left to apply for a grant of up to £1,000.

The deadline for a share of the £50,000 being offered in Oxfordshire has been extended until Red Nose Day on Friday.

The Red Nose Day Community Cash grants are running for the second time to boost worthy community projects in the county.

The £50,000 is being offered to Oxfordshire groups as part of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day.

A panel run by the Oxfordshire Community Fund (OCF) – including representatives from Comic Relief and the Oxford Mail – will decide who gets the cash.

OCF chief executive Jayne Woodley said: “In our last wave of grants more than 50 community groups here in Oxfordshire were given a good cash boost for their work in the county.

“What these groups all tended to have in common was a commitment to make life so much better for so many local people, whether that might be young people attending a youth club, or a group of elderly widows or adults with mental health issues.

“Often these groups – such as Adderbury Youth Club, Oxford Bread Group, Bicester Widows, and Parents Plus – are only made possible by the support of dedicated volunteers whose efforts go largely unrecognised.”

Sue Wicks, UK grants manager at Comic Relief said: “Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity for your group to get a share of £50,000 and make a difference to your local community.”

So far 34 community groups have applied for grants, including Blackbird Leys-based KEEN Kids which carries out children’s exercise projects, and Hogacre Common Eco Park in Grandpoint, Oxford, which promotes green spaces. Meanwhile, toddlers from The Co-operative Childcare in Roger Dudman Way, Oxford, will be getting into the Red Nose Day spirit this week. The 102 children will be dressing up as the Red Nose Day dinosaur and decorating their dinosaur eggs before a nursery egg hunt. Nursery manager Victoria Shott said: “We have a lot of activities planned for the day and the children are very excited. It should be good, and very busy.” The county has already started collecting for Comic Relief.

The 1st Southmoor Guides, based at John Blandy Primary School in Laurel Drive, Southmoor, raised more than £100 by holding a dog walkathon in the grounds of Kingston Bagpuize House last month.

Guide leader Sally Dance organised the event with her daughters, 10-year-old Holly and six-year-old Eleanor.

She said: “It went really well. It was extremely cold but plenty of people came down and paid £2 for their dogs to enter some competitions for the waggiest tail and best-dressed dog.”

A Red nose Day bean-picking competition will take place at Gosford Hill School in Kidlington on Friday. Staff and students will pick as many beans as they can from a bowl using a cocktail stick.

GRAB UP TO £1,000 RED NOSE CASH FOR YOUR GROUP

TIME is running out for Oxfordshire community groups to apply for a share of £50,000 as part of the Red Nose Day Community Cash grant scheme.
Money raised for Red Nose Day benefits communities across the county as well as abroad. Grants of between £500 to £1,000 are available as a result of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day 2013 celebrations on March 15.
To apply for a grant go to oxfordshire.org or call 01865 798 666 by Friday, March 15.
A panel run by the Oxfordshire Community Fund – including representatives from Comic Relief and the Oxford Mail – will then decide which projects will get cash.
Successful applicants will be contacted by the end of April.
Groups eligible to apply:
For Red Nose Day Community Cash 2013 we have grants available ranging from £500 to £1,000.
The grants are available to community organisations, registered charities, social enterprises, co-operatives, faith organisations and community interest companies.
Groups which have been established for less than 12 months are eligible to apply.
Groups eligible to apply for Red Nose Day Community Cash grants need to:

• Be working in a disadvantaged or deprived area
• Be small local groups with an income of less than £100,000
• run by local people
• Have limited access to other sources of income

Examples of the type of activities we will fund:

• Parent and toddler groups
• Dad and lads group
• Equipment and material for sport groups
• Community festivals
• Cross-generational work
• Sport tournaments and competition costs
• Lunch clubs
• Running costs for self-help groups
• Committee and volunteer/staff training
• Hire of sports facilities