Macc recently managed the latest Spirit of Manchester Fund round of grants which focused on organisations that support people with the cost of living crisis. We will be sharing one story a day in July to show the impact of these grants and the wide range of projects that they supported. Today, we have the story from Benchill Community Centre.
"The aim of our project is to bring people together from all communities, ensuring people are valued for their own individuality and skills. That communities are supported to work together, to make a difference to their lives and to their community.
We have been supporting JB, a single parent with three young children for over seven months. JB and her youngest child have been coming to our Winter Warmer sessions three times a week since we started the project in October 2022 and the older children come along during school holidays. We have supported the family with breakfast, lunch and drinks throughout the winter, this has eased the burden of having to heat their home and reduced their food bills. The family have also taken advantage of the children’s clothes and toy bank that we set up over Christmas and any donations of food and other items that have been donated to us from places such as the Bideford Centre. Staff and volunteers at the centre are always on hand to chat to JB and offer support and advice when needed. JB has grown in confidence and now supports the Winter Warmer/Laugh and Lunch project as a volunteer and is happy to give her opinions on what services and advice we can offer to support members of the community throughout the cost of living crisis.
Due to the cost of living crisis, we are seeing more people attending our Winter Warmer/Laugh and Lunch Projects for support, advice, a hot meal and other people to talk to. The food bank is much busier and we are offering a lot more support to people wanting to get back into work through our IT and Job Club sessions. The Spirit of Manchester funding that we received will enable us to continue to run what is now the Laugh and Lunch Project supporting local residents when they need it the most."
