More than £20,000 worth of grants was handed out to 13 local charities and community groups during the first year of operation by a building society’s charitable foundation.
The initiative by Leek Building Society marked a significant milestone in the business’s 160-year history when it was launched in April last year.
Donations and grants have helped a variety of projects including youth groups, environmental initiatives and local cultural events.
Tim Edwards, Chair of the Leek Building Society Charitable Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating our first birthday and the success we’ve had in supporting the local community at such an important time.
“It’s been a pleasure to issue grants to support so many worthwhile projects and we look forward to continuing our support to create positive change in the area.”
Among the donations was £2,342 given to the Dyslexia Association of Staffordshire.
Project Development Officer Sandra Sherratt said: “So far, we’ve been able to utilise their grant by holding more than 40 individual sessions, including free dyslexia assessments for unemployed people.
“Both adults and children have benefitted by learning more about support needs and improving their literacy skills and coping strategies which has a lasting benefit for learning and in developing careers.”
Biddulph Youth & Community Zone received £2,100 for its ongoing garden project.
Sharon Middling, from the group, added: “Our garden is a community driven project, with volunteers at the heart of planning and developing it so its accessible to everyone.
“Thanks to the funding from the Foundation, we’ve managed to buy all the timber for the wheelchair friendly raised beds and plan on building these over the next few months.
“We’re trialling a solar panelled irrigation system to help during the summer months to water our crops.
“The purchase of more garden tools has also been a huge help as we now have more tools to go around, so volunteers can carry out more jobs together.”
Other donations to local organisations include £2,800 to Trentham Scout Group, £1,500 to The Green Tree House, in Biddulph, and £1,279 to Friends of Norton-in-Hales School.
Daily Focus reported last month that the building society saw profit double and savings balances hit £1 billion in 2022.
For more information about the Leek Building Society Charitable Foundation and the application criteria, click here.
