A charity that works with over 300 children in areas of significant economic deprivation has picked up a prestigious award for its work in the community.
Passion for Learning, which is based in Ellesmere Port, received the Impact Award at this year’s Cheshire Community Foundation (CCF) Awards for Excellence.
The award recognised the achievement of the charity’s work with children from 25 primary schools in areas including Ellesmere Port, Blacon and Lache.
Passion for Learning’s mission is to support and inspire vulnerable children living in the neediest families to learn, achieve and become literate. The children they work with are typically not making progress at school. Their volunteers work 1:1 with these children during the school day and via after-school Enrichment Clubs.
The project that won the award was for their work to give 28 older children aged 17-18 the opportunity to attend primary schools where Passion for Learning hold Learning Enrichment Clubs, the experience of volunteering themselves, to help over 75 younger children age 10-11.
A CCF grant of £5,000 was used to develop and deliver a bespoke training day for the young volunteers and ongoing coaching once they were volunteering.
Diane Clark, Managing Director of Passion for Learning, accepted the Impact Award.
The award was presented at the CCF Awards Lunch, held at Walton Hall in Warrington, by Kevin Shone, Managing Director of Artorius Wealth Management. The event was also sponsored by Artorius Wealth Management.
Zoe Sheppard, CEO of CCF, said: “Passion for Learning is a fantastic example of how a charity, working with the help of CCF, can make a real difference to lives in their immediate community, not least in providing enriching experiences to children at primary schools which are in the top 10% and 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in Cheshire.
“The Enrichment Clubs provide the opportunity to connect children experiencing significant issues in their home lives, with nurturing, positive young volunteers, who act as role models for the children they support.
“For the young people at schools, college and University, the opportunity to volunteer in their local communities was highly valued by both parties. Headteachers at the primary schools where the Enrichment Clubs ran also recognised the value for their students to see young people pursuing a course of further education or study.”
Cheshire Community Foundation (CCF) connects people who want to give back with the most effective grass-roots charities and not-for-profit organisations.
Zoe added: “Our annual awards are a highlight in the calendar and a chance for us to thank our charities and donors.
“We take managing our donors’ money extremely seriously and we know what a huge difference it makes to thousands of people. I’m proud that we have supported more than 153,000 people across the region over the past 12 months.
“In this time, we have also given out more than £1 million of grants, which is a 40% increase.”
If you are a donor keen to make a difference or a charity in need of support, contact Cheshire Community Foundation on 01606 330 607 or email office@cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk
CCF currently has a major focus on tackling the widespread issue of mental health in young people having recently launched its Young Minds Matter campaign.