First grants awarded by Cornwall Women’s Fund to five inspiring projects
Cornwall Women’s Fund celebrates philanthropy and the amazing local people and charities that empower and support women, girls and families across Cornwall. Meeting virtually, the panel awarded a total of £4,412 to five groups.
The grants are being used to fund community projects in Cornwall where women and girls are the main beneficiaries. The fund aims to inspire women and girls to achieve their ambitions and to respond to local need.
The inspirational projects who have been successful with their application to CWF are:
Kernow Youth CIC – Girls Can!
Kernow Youth CIC is launching a six-month activity programme ‘Girls Can!’ for vulnerable young women aged 13 – 19 years who find it difficult to access positive and healthy activities. The programme aims to challenge female stereotypes by promoting healthy lifestyles and enabling these young women to extend their personal skill base. This is achieved through participation in fun and challenging activities which foster and encourage teamwork, co-operation and communication skills. It is hoped that the experience will encourage some of the young women to continue with activities with other organisations and agencies once the programme is finished.
Shifting Horizons CIC – Girls in the Woods
‘Girls in the Woods’ is a girls-only forest school programme. The project will create a unique opportunity for girls to enjoy and connect with nature to improve physical and mental health. The programme leaders will support the girls to become more resilient by building their emotional knowledge and skills.
The project will include 1:1 mentoring following the forest school programme. The girls will be encouraged to improve their fitness and nutrition through play, games and forest school activities. The girls will be supported through the sharing of knowledge and skills to improve their ability to cope in adverse situations. The girls will develop a language for their emotions and learn to be more comfortable asking for help.
4FS Youth Dance – Girl Power
‘Girl Power’ is a project that will meet the needs of girls and young women, through a series of dance classes, workshops and performances. The project will bring young women together to support each other, raise confidence and self -esteem, and enable women to praise and be kind to one another. In previous dance work, 4FS Youth Dance has undertaken, young women have stated how dance has made a difference to their emotional well- being and provides a safe supportive environment.
Penzance Tennis Club – Girls, Set & Match
‘Girls, Set & Match’ is a project aimed at tackling inactivity, isolation and mental health issues among young women in the Penwith area through tennis. The funding will be used to run a free weekly tennis group for young women aged between 12-18 years old, allowing them to socialise with other young women of similar ages, as well as learning new skills that will help build confidence, and enjoy playing sport as part of a healthy lifestyle. The young women will also be given the opportunity to join a Tennis Leaders Programme.
Home-Start Kernow – Virtual Parent Support
The virtual parent support offered by Home-Start Kernow (HSK) will see a Coordinator working with a trained volunteer to deliver 4 virtual group sessions via Zoom for 6 weeks. The sessions include: offering support for Isles of Scilly mums struggling with isolation, information and support to mums of babies born during COVID, support and activities for mums and toddlers and targeted support to mums with specific emotional health needs. Information packs will also be given to support specific group work.