In September of 2022 the Conwy Valley and North West Wales Coast Community Rail Partnership and Transport for Wales launched their second round of Community Grant Funding designed to support the resilience and sustainability of community organisations. Funding of up to £1,000 was available for community groups within a five-mile radius of stations along the routes from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno Junction to Holyhead. Applications were considered for a wide range of activities that could demonstrate their impact on the community and how the funding will sustain them in the future and keep services going. The fund was administered by Mantell Gwynedd and in December 2022 a total of £10,878.38 was awarded to the following community organisations.
Conwy County Deaf Activities
Conwy County Deaf Activities is a social and community group who meet every two weeks to talk about their worries and get help from each other to look after their wellbeing. The group applied for and were successful in receiving £1,000 through our Community Grant Fund to support their Deaf Community Coffee Mornings. Their Coffee Mornings are used as a drop-in clinic for those who need support in all areas such as filing in forms and making appointments. The grant funding will make it possible for a British Sign Language (BSL) Translator to attend these sessions and assist the deaf community. In addition, the grant will enable a BSL Translator to attend events and outings where BSL Interpreters are not provided.
Deganwy Out of School Club
Deganwy Out of School Club is a registered charity providing childcare and play opportunities for children and support for working families, single parents and those in education and training. The Club have been awarded £1,000 from our Community Grant Fund for their Get Up And Go Project which will support Yoga workshops to encourage physical activity promoting health and wellbeing among children and staff. The grant will also fund the purchase of outside toys and equipment which will allow children the opportunity to strengthen their motor skills, play collaboratively, build confidence, and improve communication skills.
Jon Egging Trust (JET)
The JET supports young people who are at significant risk of dropping out of education to get back on track and realising their full potential through their STEM-inspired programmes. The Trust have been awarded £923 through our Community Grant Fund to deliver activity-based learning days as part of their ‘Blue Skies’ programme. Young people from Holyhead High School who are enrolled on the ‘Blue Skies’ programme will have the opportunity to build skills in teamwork through a climbing session at Beacon Climbing Centre in Caernarfon and develop leadership skills with a visit to Snowdon for the day, delivered by a local outdoor instructor.
Llanfairfechan Town Football Club
Llanfairfechan Town Football Club was originally founded in 1870 and has served as an accessible source of physical and mental wellbeing for the community for over 150 years. The Club teams are becoming ever more popular with players and the pitch and equipment is seeing an increase in usage. The Club have been successful in receiving £968.42 from our Community Grant Fund which will enable them to install a ‘Verti-Drain’ machine preventing sitting water on the pitch during autumn and winter, allowing games to go ahead during wetter months. Being so close to the railway and beach, footballs often get damaged during play and training, the fund will also allow for the purchase of new footballs.
MaesG Showzone
MaesG ShowZone is a volunteer run community performing arts group for children and young people from school year 3 and up. Meeting twice a week, their member work on various projects such as short films, concerts, pantomimes and variety shows. MaesG ShowZone were awarded £1,000 from the Community Grant Fund to stage a full pantomime at the church hall in Maesgeirchen, where they hold their weekly sessions. The pantomime will introduce new members to performing in front of an audience for the first time and allow existing members the opportunity to further develop their skills. All 48 members will perform in the pantomime across three shows and many weeks of practice, boosting confidence and self-worth while bringing the community together and lifting spirits.
Blaenau Youth Shedz
Youth Shedz is a young people’s charity providing a safe space and positive role models for young people to make positive decisions for their future. Blaenau Youth Shedz has been awarded £995 from the Community Grant Fund to create ‘Winter Warmer Packs’ in response to the cost of living crisis experienced by many this year. The packs will include items that will help keep people warm this winter and allow funds to be freed up for other basic needs such as buying food. This will help reduce stress and improve mental health. The ‘Winter Warmer Packs’ will be given to 25 vulnerable young people who attend Youth Shedz. In addition, the grant will fund extra cosy blankets for the older generation living alone.
Tenovus Cancer Care
Tenovus is Wales’ leading cancer charity, supporting anyone affected by cancer, in communities across the country. The charity was awarded £1,000 from the Community Grant Fund to support the ‘Sing with Us’ choir concept in Bangor and Llandudno. ‘Sing with Us’ gives people affected by cancer a weekly activity that provides support, friendship and fun.
Cylch Meithrin Parc y Bont
Cylch Meithrin Parc y Bont provides Welsh-medium early years care and education to children aged 2.5 to 4 years old from a room within Ysgol Parc y Bont, Llanddaniel. The group were awarded £1,000 of Community Grant Funding towards the cost of purpose built ‘fences’ in order to provide a temporary dedicated outside play area for the children of the Cylch Meithrin. Until a permanent outside area can be identified, the ‘fences’ will provide a safe area for children to explore independently.
Cyngor Ysgol Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
The school Council at Ysgol Llanfairpwllgwyngyll is made up of pupils from the school that have been elected by their classmates to represent them in School Council meetings, discuss different ways of improving the school and organize various events throughout the year. The council has been awarded £1,000 from the Community Grant Fund to hold a Storytelling workshop and purchase Welsh books for the pupils of the school. The workshop will provide an invaluable experience to inspire and enthuse children about writing, creativity and reading.
Seren Ffestiniog Cyf
Seren is based in Blaenau Ffestiniog and provides care and support services, including supported living schemes, for adults with learning disabilities. Seren are developing a number of new craft workshops and training sessions for their service users, one being music and drama therapy. Seren were successful in their application to the Community Grant Fund for £991.96 to purchase musical instruments to support these sessions and potentially expand them to the older community. The sessions intend to raise self-confidence and self-esteem among their individuals, but also to learn dexterity and rhythm skills as they hear sound patterns that focus on strengthening senses.
Greener Communities Community Grant Fund
Additional funding from Transport for Wales was been made available for community groups within a one-mile radius of a station on the Conwy Valley and North west Wales Coast Line whose emphasis was on ‘Green Projects’. Groups could apply for up to £500 to deliver projects with a greener initiative such as habitat creation, bug houses and allotments.
Partneriaeth Maesgeirchen Partnership
Partneriaeth Maesgeirchen Partnership are a not for profit community group carrying out a number of projects in and around the Marchog Ward of Bangor. The group were awarded £500 from the Green Initiatives Community Grant Fund towards the purchase of bulbs and other gardening products to improve the image of the Beach Road area of Bangor. A team of volunteers will be planting bulbs, trees and other plants as well as painting the planters, and hope to work with local primary schools to get them involved in improving the town’s image to welcome people to Bangor.
Seren Ffestiniog Cyf
Seren is based in Blaenau Ffestiniog and provides care and support services, including supported living schemes, for adults with learning disabilities. Seren have received £500 from the Green Initiatives Community Grant Fund towards the cost of gardening equipment to be used to continue with improvements and expansion of services to Stiniog Gardens, the cemetery at Llan Ffestiniog and the gardens at the hotel. The organisation would like to develop a service for people who are unable to look after their family’s graves, whether due to physical incapacity or distance. This will benefit their service users by building confidence and developing their skills.