Ongo awards £19,000 to local community groups

A total of 15 community groups in North Lincolnshire have been awarded more than £19,000 after another successful year of Ongo’s community grant scheme.

This funding is made available each year as part of Ongo’s promise to reinvest profit back into communities.

It is awarded to bring people together, support groups to continue operating, hold activities, contribute to running costs, buy new equipment, and bring improvements to their facilities.

This year, along with Ongo’s usual £10,000 of funding for North Lincolnshire, its Safer Streets project also pledged a further £10,000 for groups either based in or wanting to deliver projects in Westcliff.

Safer Streets launched in March 2020 after the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Humberside awarded Ongo a total of £650,000 to improve the Westcliff estate and help cut crime. This included providing safety equipment, installing new communal doors, improving the look and feel of the estate and creating a community residents are proud to be a part of.

Groups benefitting from Ongo’s original £10,000 include Tackling it Together (Part of Scunthorpe Rugby Club), Steelers Wheelers Sports Club, Scunthorpe Men in Sheds, Appleby Frodingham Amateur Swim Club, Helpful Hampers, EcoSerenity Project (Barton) CIC, 2nd Ashby Brownies, LIVES, and Keadby Juniors Football Club.

Those awarded additional Safer Streets funding to deliver services in Westcliff are Westcliff Warriors Football Club, Jen’s Special Place, Riddings Amateur Boxing Club, The Rotary Club of Scunthorpe, Westcliff (and surrounding areas) Association, and Riddings Brigade.

Kenny McGready, chair of Riddings Amateur Boxing Club, said: “The money we received will go towards free sessions for young people in the summer holidays and new equipment which is just fantastic.

“I believe our gym will give people something to be proud of in their community, and it will also help to teach and promote a healthy lifestyle to people of all ages.

“We know gym memberships can be expensive, so we want to help as much as we can. The support I’ve received from Ongo from the start has been brilliant – they’ve helped to make this dream a reality, and I can’t thank them enough. It has been crucial to have their backing, and I can’t wait to work with them in the future.”

This year, 29 video applications were submitted; they were looked over and ranked by a panel made up of Ongo staff, tenants, and board members.

Kerry Copson, Ongo’s Community Development manager, said: “Running this scheme is just another amazing part of what we do for the community. This is my first year being in charge of this scheme, and we have had such an overwhelming response which is just fantastic.”

“We’re delighted knowing that the extra bit of funding will make a huge difference to the lives of local people, young and old. We understand that the current situation makes it difficult for groups to keep running; however, as things return to normal, this will help groups to start back up.

“We’re really proud we could support 15 groups in total, and we can’t wait to support more in the years to come.”

These grants are hugely important in the region and have been vital during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure services continue to run.

Rachel Woodliffe, Westcliff association chair, said: “We applied for the money because we are very passionate about making difference and offering help and support to the community.

“During lockdown, we still held committee meetings digitally and tried our hardest to support the community. We applied for the money to help residents get feel safe and secure in their home and so friends are able to carry on making memories.”

In normal circumstances, Ongo hold a celebration event for successful groups, which will now take place once restrictions are lifted.