Foreshore Trust grants to help tackle cost of living crisis

Nine projects have been selected to receive funding from the Foreshore Trust.
Many of the projects will spend their grants helping support residents through the cost of living crisis. Funding totalling £45,000 has been given to: Education Training Consortium Sussex, Hastings Community Trust, Hastings and Rother YMCA, Karmabank, Hastings Advice and Representation Centre, Seaview, XTRAX, Emmaus and Umbrella Sussex.
Education Training Consortium Sussex will use their funding for their pantry to feed people in need and helping them get further support and access to volunteering and training opportunities to hopefully help them out of poverty.
Hastings Community Trust will spend their funding on fresh food boxes for households who already use foodbanks.
Hastings and Rother YMCA will use theirs to support activities, learning and provide age-appropriate enrichment opportunities including subsidising food, transport costs and learning materials for the Y Centre Youth Club.
Karmabank run a community kitchen every Thursday, preparing a hearty vegetarian lunch and sending all the guests home with a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables, all supplied by Fareshare.
HARC will be spending their funding on outreach advice surgeries within Hastings and St Leonards, helping those who need support to maximise their income, stabilise their expenditure and give clients the tools to help manage their own finances.
Seaview are planning a Seaview's got Talent event to showcase the hidden talents of their service users, to put together a community performance.
XTRAX will be able to deliver additional outreach sessions in deprived areas of the town, helping to repair and rebuild neighbourhoods where drugs and anti-social behaviour undermine communities.
Emmaus are planning a garden area where their residents can reconnect with nature with a lawned area, a space for growing vegetables, a wild garden and a decked area with outdoor seating.
Umbrella Sussex will introduce some sharing initiatives including clothes swaps, repair and mending sessions, alongside informal signposting to places where there is more formal support.
Cllr Ali Roark, chair of the charity committee, said: "It was great to see so many different groups putting in applications for this funding. The decision was difficult, but the successful applicants will use the money to make a real difference to our residents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. I look forward to seeing how they deliver these projects over the coming year."
The organisations have got 12 months to deliver their projects, rather than the usual six months.
Find out more about the Foreshore Trust at https://www.hastings.gov.uk/my-community/foreshoretrust/