In May we told you about the Community Foundation for Surrey and the work they do to support causes through its family of donors, they are now delighted to have reached a magnificent milestone

The Community Foundation for Surrey has now awarded more than £10million in grants to support local charities and community groups.

The philanthropic organisation works with local donors wanting to give back to their community by connecting them with projects in Surrey working to improve health and wellbeing, the disadvantaged, the environment, education, sports and the arts.

In 2018 and 2019, more than £1.4million was awarded across 436 grants – the greatest amount in a single year since the charity began.

Among those to have benefitted are Emerge Advocacy and Artventure Trust.

Emerge Advocacy was launched to provide mental health support to young people admitted to A&E at Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital in response to their needs and vulnerabilities. Supportive adults operate as mentors for patients during their time in A&E and after to reduce anxiety and help young people engage with services which may be able to help.
Founder of Emerge Advocacy, Joy Wright said: “There has been significant demand for Emerge projects across a number of Surrey hospitals. This grant from the CFS has made it possible for us to launch a further project at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, that is now busy supporting young people with a variety of mental health issues.”

The Artventure Trust works with adults with learning difficulties enabling them to be creative, have fun and make new friends in a supportive environment. Sessions improve self-expression, develop skills and enhance self-esteem through the use of a variety of materials and techniques allowing clients to produce unusual and exciting art.

Trustee of Artventure Trust, Paul Charlesworth said: “At a time when local authorities are cutting back on funding for learning disabled adults, we have been very lucky to have secured financial support through the CFS. This has allowed us to carry on with our work in support of one of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in our society – for which we are most grateful.”

Announcing the fantastic achievement of the £10million milestone, CFS Chief Executive Laura Thurlow thanked all those who have helped reach this. She said: “Our aim is to encourage and inspire more local people to join our growing family of donors. If you are wanting to support your local community, we would love to hear from you.”

The Foundation is due to launch a report next year highlighting the needs that still exist in Surrey.