ASDA’S charity, The Asda Foundation have today announced that substantial funding has been awarded to two groups in the London to enable them to transform community spaces and places where local people can come together and thrive.  

The Asda Foundation surprised 31 different community groups earlier this morning by telling them their Spaces and Places grant application has been successful. The grants totalling to over £600,000 range between £10,000 and £25,000 with the aim of improving community spaces in local communities across the UK.   

Two London based community groups worked closely with their local store community and were today told their Spaces and Places grant application both totalling to  £35,000 had been successful:

• Asda Harlow worked closely with the Butterfly Effect Wellbeing to secure a whopping grant of £25,000.00 that will enable them to renovate a building to create new space and meet group’s expanding needs.
• Asda Hayes have helped to secure a grant of £10,000 for The Uxbridge Centre, that will help to create new disabled toilet facilities.

The criteria for the funding included costs to go towards renovations, repairs or transforming outdoor spaces, with projects ranging from upgrading a community kitchen and café, to roof repairs, to refurbishing a whole community building to improve accessibility, to creating an outdoor nature and sensory trail. 

The challenges faced in local communities are complex and bigger than ever with the challenges to get appropriate space and the funding for general running expenses. It is often small, grassroots groups which are the lifeline for many, but funding is needed to ensure these vital spaces from where they operate don’t vanish from local communities and are supported not only for today, but for generations to come.

Gemma Dennis, Community Champion at Asda Harlow went to surprise one of the successful groups, The Butterfly Effect Wellbeing group and presented them with an Asda Foundation cheque for £25,000 which will contribute towards their goal of reaching £60,000 to renovate an existing building to meet the group’s expanding needs. The group have outgrown their current community hub as demand for their services has increased rapidly.

Butterfly effect wellbeing is a non-judgmental group that offers space to listen, accept, encourage and support those that need it.  The group’s community hub is open daily and offers a variety of activities to help those experiencing mental ill health and also on a social aspect. These currently include meditation, sound therapy, craft groups, women’s groups, men’s groups, cooking on a budget, baby and me sessions, children’s support groups, and chill ‘n’ chat for teenagers, social support groups, SOBS, sing-a-long with me, walk and talk, stroll n snap. They also offer food on various days for anyone to collect, to help with the cost of living.

Angela Hannibal, founder of Butterfly Effect Wellbeing group said “I’m still in disbelief and lost for words after receiving the news we were successful for funding from the Asda Foundation, this means so much to us! We are here to offer interim help for those with mental ill health, as there is currently a long wait list. We hope this will cut down the suicide rate, as this is very high in Harlow. We want to continue helping people in the current crisis and offer somewhere safe to come to and feel part of the community. This grant will enable us to expand and grow our community space to make it more inclusive, bigger and better. We will have a bigger building and outdoor space, meaning that we will be able to help so many more people in the community. This money means we can improve the quality of the service we offer and create a more inviting and accessible space for the local people who use it. We will have a secure garden for families to come together, as many have no outside space. This grant also future proofs our work so we can continue to offer our services long into the future. Thank you for making this possible.” 

Gemma Dennis, Asda Community Champion at Harlow, said: “I was thrilled to be able to present this amazing group with Asda Foundation funding, it was a great moment and I will never forget it. This group is already a huge benefit to people in our town, this funding to help create a permanent base will have a massive impact on our community and mean even more groups and activities can use the new space!”  

Alexandra Preston, Senior Manager for Asda Foundation, says: “Every community needs a safe inclusive space for people to be together and be themselves. Community spaces can be a lifeline, but we know many are in desperate need of funding to maintain, develop and repair these spaces to enable community groups to continue delivering their vital services and activities. That’s where Asda Foundation can help with funding. We want to continue playing our part in uniting communities and reducing loneliness by improving community spaces for people to be together.” 

Today, The Asda Foundation told 31 groups who submitted an application, that they had been successful and they would be receiving one of theirInvesting in Spaces and Places grants.