Greenhavens was delighted to have been recently been awarded a grant of £4000 from the Lewes Fund, through Sussex Community Foundation.

We requested the grant for capacity building and training so that Greenhavens can further support members to network, share ideas, learn and become more resilient and effective.

Our groups are embedded in the heart of their communities – from small tenants associations to ‘friends of’ groups, community gardens, leisure providers, health groups and access projects. This means that the work is entirely driven by the needs of service users and local residents – and can reach audiences in communities that the bigger charities can’t, or don’t, reach.
 
Greenhavens promised to use the funds to deliver a bespoke inclusive learning programme. This will use expert support to train several groups at once, reducing financial impact on individuals.

Training is likely to include training to comply with health & safety legislation and ensuring groups can operating safely. For example courses such as safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, basic health and safety and risk assessments, specific equipment and tool handling etc.

We would also hope to share the pool of knowledge/experience that Greenhavens members can offer – e.g. wildlife identification, food growing, leading diverse groups, inter-generational projects, social prescribing and marketing. Alongside this, we would build our own capacity and develop a business/funding plan.

We aim to train a few members from each group who will then cascade their training down to their own groups making a huge difference to hundreds more residents who are engaged in the green spaces. The next stage is to send out a consultation to member groups to identify the training that is needed most urgently, then a programme of training will be scheduled. Please do ensure your community groups respond to this consultation.

If you think you can help us with the planning and delivery of relevant training, please do get in touch.

Thanks again to the Lewes Fund and Sussex Community Partnership for awarding this valuable grant. It’s a fantastic opportunity to increase the skills and resiliance of your community groups.