Crewe Businesses Join Forces to Make a Difference

A group of businesses in Crewe have worked with their local Community Foundation to set up the Crewe Fund, which has made nearly £50,000 in charity grants this winter.

Seven projects have benefited, tackling issues such as health inequalities for the homeless, social isolation in deprived communities, and building strong resilient young families.

The founding donors include Bentley Motors, who employ four thousand people at their site in Crewe. Last year, Bentley established a Covid Impact Fund in partnership with Cheshire Community Foundation (CCF). The fund with grants ranging between £7,800 and £25,000 has supported 11 local projects and highlighted that there are a range of complex issues in Crewe which need varied and sustainable approaches, leading to the Crewe Fund.

The Crewe Fund was established in partnership not only with Bentley Motors, but a wider group of other community-spirited local businesses including Baywater Healthcare, Mornflake, The Guinness Partnership, local businesses, and an anonymous local family, have donated generously to the fund.

Sally Hepton, Bentley’s Director of Government Relations and Sustainable Luxury explains:

“ As part of Bentley’s Beyond 100 strategy, our mission is to deliver social impact by advancing life chances – starting in our home in Crewe, where we’ve recently confirmed we will build our first electric car. Following the positive impact of our Covid Impact Fund, we are really pleased CCF moved to establish a new group fund for the town. The launch of the Crewe Fund is a great example of partnership working between local businesses and CCF.  We look forward to seeing how the Crewe Fund will make a positive difference to our local community.”

Baywater Healthcare CEO, Adam Sullivan, said:

“Engaging with the Foundation was one of the most rewarding things Baywater Healthcare did last year. Working with like-minded individuals who want to make a positive difference to the local community is something we are really proud to be supporting.”

"We take great pride in giving back to society, supporting charities and good causes nationally and internationally. This is why we are delighted to be involved with the Cheshire Community Foundation and the Crewe Fund, as their values completely align with our own."

Ken Lawton, Managing Director: Alpha Omega

“There has been a longstanding, symbiotic relationship between Mornflake and the people of Cheshire which can be traced right back to 1675 when we first began milling oats. As a business we’ve always worked hard to nurture those close bonds as we would with our own family. The opportunity to do this through the Cheshire Community Foundation and support an organisation making a tangible difference to the lives of the local community was just the next logical step and one that we feel very proud to have been able to take.” Mornflake

Tackling Poverty and Health Inequality

Chance Changing Lives offer a Saturday Kitchen for homeless and vulnerable people, and this grant has paid for a GP outreach project within it. Guests receive a free meal and takeaway bag, a health check, podiatry appointment, counselling, signposting, practical help such as sleeping bags and clothing, and friendly support from the centre volunteers. Life expectancy for a homeless man is 47, and for a woman 43. This project aims to address the health inequalities in this population to improve that shocking statistic.

The Lighthouse Centre also has a long track record of supporting homeless people in the area, and this grant will enable them to expand their women’s support group Nene TLC, which helps Black and Minority Ethnic women access the services they need and reduces stress and social isolation. Through workshops and social interaction the group aims to address inequalities, advocate and empower often-marginalised women to achieve their dreams and gain resilience and agency.

St Paul’s Centre is fast becoming an essential resource for people on low incomes in the Crewe community. It has a foodbank, a shoe shop offering free children's shoes to low-income families, and now thanks to this grant, a cycle repair workshop. The project involves local people volunteering and learning new skills together, repairing bikes and reducing social isolation in the process. The scheme will improve employability for the participants and promotes cycling which is great for the environment as well as promoting health and wellbeing.

Stronger Families

Motherwell CIO run their ‘Believe’ project in Crewe and Winsford, supporting mums at risk of child removal. The grant has paid for an Advocacy Worker whose help is offered when a child is placed on a child protection plan. These skilled individuals will build a relationship with the mum, supporting her to tackle issues such as addiction or negative relationships, building mental health and healthy lifestyles. They help families through the complex legal process of child protection and report dramatic improvements in outcomes for the children and mums they support.

The Wishing Well have received a grant to run Better Start classes for parents and young children, where children can play and learn while parents get support and guidance around healthy eating, money management, and parenting skills. Another grant will help with the salary for a Volunteer Coordinator for CLASP who supports lone-parent families. Helping babies and young children get a good start in life is essential to building a more resilient community, so by funding these early interventions our donors are investing in the future of Crewe for generations to come.

"On behalf of South Cheshire CLASP I am very grateful to those who have contributed to the Crewe fund. The grant will help us to continue to support lone parent families in Crewe, as well as providing volunteering opportunities and supporting our current volunteers. It’s great to hear that local businesses are supporting local causes – a real win for the communities of Crewe." Julia Wood, Chief Executive

Pure Insight supports care leavers or care-experienced young people in the Crewe area, and have received a grant towards the salary of their Mentor Coordinators. Mentoring is at the heart of Pure Insight’s work, pairing intensely vulnerable young people with responsible, caring and committed adults - exactly the kind of people who may have been missing from their lives up to this point. Employing salaried Coordinators is an effective way to streamline what has to be a thorough recruitment and pairing process, and gets support to the young people more quickly.

Zoe Sheppard, CEO of Cheshire Community Foundation (CCF) said:

“We are so grateful to the donors of the Crewe Fund for their generosity and community spirit. The projects they are funding will directly support nearly 1,000 local people but the benefits will be felt by their families, their neighbours and the wider community, meaning the impact of such investment will be far reaching. By joining forces these businesses are able to make an enormous difference to the community, and by working with CCF as the experts in grant-making, they know every penny will be well spent. Together we are changing lives for the better.”