Thanks a million! Our fund gets record breaking boost

 
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23 March 2012

London's most vulnerable people were handed a £1 million lifeline by Sport Relief today as it made a record-breaking grant to the Evening Standard’s Dispossessed Fund.

The windfall was hailed as a “gold medal win” for the capital and will be used to transform the lives of children and families in poverty. It is Sport Relief’s first grant to a newspaper-led fund and a tribute to readers whose response — together with today’s contribution — has now boosted the Dispossessed cash total to £8.3 million.

Sport Relief praised the Standard’s “inspiring” work as it prepared for a weekend of fundraising fronted by Davina McCall.

Kevin Cahill, the chief executive of Comic Relief who is in charge of the Sport Relief campaign, said: “It would be difficult not to be moved by the work carried out by the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund. The dedication the paper

has shown to the city is truly inspiring. Comic Relief has been funding projects in London for years and we have seen the impact that small grants can make in local communities.

“We are extremely proud to be making a £1 million grant that will help the Dispossessed Fund reach even more people in need.”

Sport Relief is making the grant from money that has already been raised. The cash will be handed out to more than 50 community and voluntary organisations helping disadvantaged people — and eligible groups can apply online from today.

Mr Cahill called on readers to turn up for the Sport Relief Mile on Sunday to make a difference: “We are hugely grateful to every Standard reader who has entered and secured their place on the start line, but there’s still time for even more readers to take part in our biggest, best London Mile yet. Go to sportrelief.com/mile and feel proud that you will be doing your bit to help vulnerable people.”

Standard editor Geordie Greig, editor of the London Evening Standard, said: “This is the charity equivalent of a gold medal win for vulnerable people London. It is a huge boost for people who are marginalised and struggling to make ends meet. I am proud that this paper continues to lead the way in responding to poverty and immensely grateful to Sport Relief for their generosity. Our Fund is already making a difference on the ground and this £1 million will help transform the lives of those most in need.”

This weekend marks the climax of a two-month long Sport Relief fund-raising campaign. A Night of TV kicks off on BBC1 this evening with an extravaganza anchored by Gary Lineker, Davina McCall, Dermot O’Leary, Claudia Winkleman and Fearne Cotton. They will present sketches and shows, including a one-off edition of Outnumbered, and a special edition of Absolutely Fabulous with guest stars joining Edina and Patsy, including Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and Colin Jackson.

, who ran the Sport Relief Mile in 2010, will present a night of entertainment in aid of the charity tonight and also helped John Bishop in his gruelling rowing challenge across the English Channel last month.

Then on Sunday it’s the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile in the Mall. Currently more than 17,000 people have signed up to complete the one, three or six mile course for charity. Sport Relief are allowing entries on the day and hope that the amount raised will exceed the £6 million donated by the 16,000 people who ran this biennial event in 2010.

Support for the London Mile came this week from the squad of Saracens rugby club, sponsors of the Dispossessed Fund, who took to the country lanes of St. Albans to run a trial mile to raise money and awareness for the cause. Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall said: “We have a big game at Sale this weekend and so sadly we can’t be at the Mall. However, we’re eager to do everything we can to support this brilliant cause, and so we arranged for our entire squad to run the Sport Relief Mile a few days early.

Today’s windfall comes just two months after the fund handed out a record £1.25 million to grass-roots charities and brings total disbursements from the Dispossessed Fund this year alone to £2.25 million. The new round of grant applications will be administered, as always, on the fund’s behalf by our partners, the Community Foundation Network. It marks yet another extraordinary milestone in our campaign which was launched 21 months ago following a “call to arms” from Prince William, and which united Standard readers, business chiefs, charity mandarins and politicians.

Prime Minister David Cameron has lauded the fund for “changing the lives of people for better and tackling extreme poverty”. Mayor Boris Johnson has praised the fund for “highlighting the poverty and deprivation that shame this city while giving every Londoner the chance to help remedy the situation”.

While Sport Relief is best known for its charity work abroad, today’s grant will be used to help people living in London. It comes after the Standard revealed frightening levels of poverty in this city - one of the richest in the world - with a mother unable to buy a carrycot for her child and a student lacking just £18 to fill a college entry form.

How to support our fund

Where are we with the Dispossessed Fund?

So far we have raised £8.3 million to support grassroots groups tackling poverty across the capital. This is the most money ever raised by a newspaper-led campaign except for during war or natural disaster and has been achieved in just 21 months. We have already distributed £2.97 million in grants to 560 groups.

What is happening today?

We are making a further £1 million available to charitable and community-led groups tackling deprivation and poverty in London. Hundreds of charities are invited to apply for grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 each.

Who can apply?

To be eligible you will have evidence of an income of less than £250,000 per annum. You will also be working to lift people out of poverty in one of the following areas: Training and educating people who have dropped out of mainstream education; getting people into work such as through apprenticeship or mentor schemes; fighting gang, knife and gun crime; improving mental and physical health and well-being; addressing other manifestations of poverty such as homelessness.

How can I apply?

You can apply online at dispossessedfund.communityfoundations.org.uk. The deadline for applications is May 4.

How can I support the Dispossessed Fund?

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