Latest Grants Made by Chesterton House Foundation

The Trustees of the Chesterton House Foundation, which include members of our teams and external trustees who have a connection with our Group, met last month to review the Foundation’s progress and consider applications for grants that had been received. 

We were delighted to record the receipt of donations from Jordan’s Golf Challenge, as well as a valuable reclaim of tax relief under the Government’s gift Aid scheme, and a donation from Chesterton House Financial Planning Ltd, bringing the total balance at the date of the meeting to £4,794. Since the meeting we’re also very pleased to announce that the Foundation’s funds have been boosted by the magnificent total of £1,403.33 from the sale of tickets to our Summer Barbeque. Thanks to everyone who came along to make a really enjoyable evening whilst helping the Foundation at the same time.

We had received a number of applications for grants, and the trustees carefully considered these in detail. Our focus has been on helping smaller charities and projects based in the counties of Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, and we agreed to make grants as follows;

£1,000 to Microphthalmia, Anophthalmia and Coloboma Support (MACS) 

We learned that this year 114 families in the UK will be told their babies have no eyes, small eyes, or a cleft in the eye. Many of them will have additional health challenges and be told there’s no hope that their child will ever see. MACS is the UK’s only charity specifically supporting children and adults born with Microphthalmia (small, underdeveloped eyes), Anophthalmia (no eyes) or Coloboma (cleft or gap in the eye structure). These rare conditions develop during pregnancy and can occur alone, with other birth defects, or as part of a syndrome, often leading to additional complex needs. Individuals also have visible differences, and wear prosthetics eyes, causing them to feel different; impacting their confidence, self-esteem, and mental health.

MACS services enable families affected by these rare conditions to connect with each other and provides access to emotional and practical support, grants, and regional activities. They receive no state funding and are reliant on charitable contributions to ensure the continuity and development of their work, and we were very pleased to be able to support them.

£1,000 to Leicestershire and Rutland REMAP 

REMAP provides a unique free of charge service, designing and producing custom made equipment to local disabled people, where no commercial solution is available. They are the local branch of a national charity which brings people with technical skills together to manufacture high quality aids and devices, in order that local disabled people can be more independent and have a higher quality of life. We heard from Nick, one of our Trustees, who had been involved with Remap and he explained the projects that they had been able to deliver and how this had improved the lives of disabled people in the area. This is a remarkable charity doing great work, and we’ll be telling you more about it in a future newsletter.

£1,000 to Chord Progression Music CIC 

Matt Tandy formed Chord Progression Music last year to promote positive mental health and wellbeing through music. He runs sessions run in a full band workshop style, with participants able to chose their instrument and instantly become part of a band, playing popular songs and music. The workshops welcome people of all ages (18+), and abilities. No musical experience is required as everything is taught during the sessions. The results are astounding in musical terms. The feedback from participants is 100% positive as an aid to overall wellbeing, confidence building, social bonding and cognitive benefits. Matt was looking for help to purchase equipment to enable him to continue with this important work, and we were pleased to be able to support this interesting project.

£1,300 to Starlight Youth Theatre

Starlight Youth Theatre is based in Loughborough, and offers recreational performing arts classes to children and young adults aged 10-18 in Charnwood area, with the aim to foster their personal development and creativity. We heard about the work of Starlight, their productions and successes, and how they help bring out the confidence and creative skills of youngsters. Starlight applied for a grant to buy more wireless microphones to maximise the number of performers able to access this equipment. At a cost of £620 each the Trustees agreed to award a grant of £1,300 to meet the cost of two microphones. We’ll be telling you more about Starlight in a future newsletter.

To learn more about the Chesterton House Foundation, or to make an application for a grant, visit our website at https://chestertonhouse.co.uk/foundation/

We’ll be delighted to hear from you.

Andy Jervis
Chair of Trustees