A FTSE 250-listed real estate investment trust has launched a new partnership to support local health projects.
Warrington-headquartered Assura PLC has teamed up with Cheshire Community Foundation to support the Foundation's work in the town.
Staff were asked to vote on the three community health projects they were most keen to support with grants.
Assura designs, builds and invests in and manages GP surgery, primary care and community healthcare buildings so the NHS has the places and spaces it needs to deliver more services, tests and treatments in the community. Local centres include Fearnhead Cross Medical Centre and Greenbank Surgery in Warrington.
The three projects to receive grants were:
Home-Start Warrington - a family support charity which trains volunteers who then support disadvantaged families with at least one child under five. Families are mainly from the deprived inner wards of Warrington, which fall within the 20% most deprived in the country. Home-Start aims to train a minimum of 12 volunteers a year to help maintain an active volunteer bank of 40 volunteers. All volunteers must undergo 40 hours of training before they are linked with a family and the funding from Assura will help support the volunteer preparation training course. Following their training, volunteers are placed with a family who are supported 3 hours per week within the family home, which could include supporting the family with childcare, trips out, budgeting and household management or applying for benefits. Volunteers support the family until the youngest child enters full time education or the reason for their referral has been achieved.
Warrington Street Pastors - are trained and uniformed volunteers who patrol in groups of four each Saturday and some Fridays between 11pm and 5am in Warrington town centre, providing care and support to young people who find themselves in distress, due to excess alcohol, drug misuse or who have become separated from their friends. The Assura funding will help support the creation of a professional video, website and social media platform. This will enable more professional presentations to schools, churches, clubs and other organisations. In addition, it will educate school children to the dangers surrounding some areas of the night-time economy, particularly alcohol and substance abuse and if they do find themselves in trouble who to go to get help in contacting parents.
Newton Community Centre - covers the whole of Newton-le-Willows and surrounding areas, and due to lack of facilities in Haydock and Golborne, children attend from there also.
The team at the Community Centre run activities focussed on children with their weekly 4-2-6 Club being the highest profile. Currently, an entrance fee is charged which covers the costs of materials, food and guest speakers.
Although well attended (on average 40 children per week), many local families do not attend due to the cost being prohibitive, especially with more than one child in the family. The Community Centre is keen to remove all barriers to children being able to attend and this funding from Assura will help them cover the cost for families who cannot afford the small cost.
Zoe Sheppard, CEO of Cheshire Community Foundation, said: "We are delighted to be working with Assura and their support for the three projects in Warrington will make a real difference.
"We have a growing number of businesses in Cheshire and Warrington which have partnered with us to ensure a more strategic approach to their charitable giving."
Assura CEO, Jonathan Murphy, said: "These projects all struck a real chord with our team and we're delighted to be working with the Foundation in Warrington."