Over the last 22 years approximately £306,000 has been awarded to local projects through the South East London Combined Heat and Power (SELCHP) community fund.
This year’s eight winning community groups in Lewisham and SELCHPs neighbouring communities will benefit from just over £12,250 for their projects, which help support local people in particular families, children and pupils
Veolia SELCHP has awarded funds to various groups, one of which is St John’s Catholic School. The school has been granted £1,300 to fund its workshops provided by Eco Active, where the children are taught the importance of sorting and recycling and given the opportunity to learn about current issues surrounding plastics.
Deptford Folk has been awarded £2,000 to improve the environment by running tree planting sessions for all to enjoy. The group has successfully planted a whole apple orchard, as well as 17 fruit trees, with the help of 120 willing volunteers. Emily Oaks, representative of Deptford Folk, said: “It is going to make a real difference to nature and the well-being and overall mental health of people, along with a whole manner of other things”.
Another club which has received £2,000 worth of funding from Veolia SELCHP is Greenhouse Sports. The club is an under 14s boys basketball team, and was initially set up in order to inspire young people towards a healthier, more positive life. Sarah Louis, Representative of Greenhouse Sports, said: “The boys as a whole have all gained confidence, improved their fitness levels, understand accountability and team work and made friends for life. They have learnt all of this through play, basketball is such a tremendous tool for the above life skills”.
Other projects which have received funding through the community fund include: Surrey Docks Farm, which provides opportunities for people to engage in aspects of a city farm and a programme for children from special education needs schools to develop their independence and self-esteem; Docklands JFC & Fisher JFC which runs football clubs for boys from the ages of 4-18; New Cross and Deptford Families First, an organisation providing early help for families; The 2000 Community Action Centre, a centre which runs holiday programmes for children and delivers food parcels to families, and Deptford Play Group, which offers community family support and activities to under 5’s during holidays and term time.
Robbie Jameson, General Manager for Veolia SELCHP said: “We are delighted to support such vibrant projects around our plant, and that we really feel they make a difference for the communities around us. We had very numerous and strong applications this year and the projects that were retained by SELCHP were all of remarkable quality.”