Wealden Volunteering receives £8,000 boost from London Gatwick

Wealden Volunteering has received £8,000 from the London Gatwick Foundation Fund which it will use to expand its services in the Wealden area.

Its volunteering service matches volunteers with the roles available to support local groups and give them more time to help people in their local community.

The group supports almost 100 local organisations and last year placed 250 volunteers of all ages in more than 70 community groups.

Judith Austin, CEO, Wealden Volunteering, said: “We are very grateful to have received £8,000 from the London Gatwick Foundation Fund which we will spend on reaching out in Wealden with pop ups and expansion.

“Wealden Volunteering matches volunteers with roles available. We advertise all the volunteer roles that our member organisations require and at present we have more than 70 roles.

“Finding volunteers is one of the biggest headaches for organisations so by allowing us to do this for them we free up their time to do what their organisation is there to do in the community.”

Volunteering increases people’s wellbeing, helps them to learn new skills, brings businesses and organisations together and improves community connections, the group said.

Wealden Volunteering will also hold its annual Volunteer Fair on October 12 at the Uckfield Civic Centre from 10am to 2pm.

The event will showcase how diverse volunteering roles can be, with an opportunity to meet some of the organisations people can help.

Judith added: “In 2023 we placed more than 250 volunteers of all ages in about 70 organisations. Now that we cover the whole of Wealden, this is increasing and we are working hard to make sure we reach out to all parts of Wealden in a phased approach.”

Wealden Volunteering was just one of the Sussex community groups to receive funding from London Gatwick in the first round of the London Gatwick Foundation Fund of 2024, which covers Mid Sussex, Crawley and Wealden.

Melanie Wrightson, stakeholder engagement manager at London Gatwick, said: “We’re so pleased to be able to offer financial support to Wealden Volunteering, which will enrich volunteer’s lives and give local community groups some much-needed help.

“It gives us so much joy to give back to our local community through the London Gatwick Foundation Fund and we know the ongoing cost-of-living crisis continues to cause problems for grassroots community groups across Sussex.

“The London Gatwick Foundation Fund has supported hundreds of good causes over the years. We would like to urge local charities and community groups to apply for the next round of funding and allow us to help them too.”

Each year there are three rounds of grants, totalling £100,000, which are made available to beneficiaries in Sussex, across the area of benefit which covers Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Wealden.

The London Gatwick Foundation Fund was set up in 2016 to award funding to local groups that work to fight social isolation and tackle disadvantage, raise aspirations and develop skills, improve health and wellbeing, and support children and young people.

The London Gatwick Foundation Fund is managed on behalf of London Gatwick in Sussex by the Sussex Community Foundation.

The deadline to apply for the next round of funding in Sussex is September 6.

To apply for funding from the Gatwick Foundation Fund in Sussex, please go to: https://sussexgiving.org.uk/