23 projects aimed at improving life in Ryde are to share £224,000 after becoming the first recipients of funding through Ryde Neighbourhood Board’s community grants programme.
Around 90 applications were submitted for the Pride in Place funding, with successful projects spanning community support, health and wellbeing, sport, heritage and the arts.
Among the largest awards are £20,000 for Natural Enterprise to develop a volunteer programme supporting the sustainability of Appley Tower and £20,000 for Veterans Hub IoW to help house homeless veterans and deliver art club activities.
Ryde Carnival has been awarded £17,000 towards a new flat-bed trailer and generator to replace its existing dilapidated float, as well as a programme of free carnival workshops.
Ryde Community Development Trust will receive £17,300 to recruit a Sports Development Worker to help sporting clubs in the town develop, while Unloc has secured £17,341 for an employability and enterprise bootcamp, mentoring and business start-up support for 20 young people.
Up to £16,579 has been awarded to Vernon Square Cons Society to upgrade facilities at Vernon Square Gardens.
Other successful projects include £13,625 for Toucan Diversity to carry out an access audit of Ryde town centre and provide disability awareness training to local businesses, and £13,200 for Stitch Dept to run sewing and stitching workshops, a ‘sewing bee’ and an end-of-project fashion show.
Sovereign Housing will receive £7,800 to provide essential furniture and appliances for young people moving from supported housing into their first home.
John’s Club has been awarded £7,830 to deliver cooking workshops for disabled adults and people with learning disabilities, while Vectis Boating and Fishing Club will receive £7,650 to refurbish toilets, flooring and walkways to improve accessibility.
The Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra will receive £6,500 to purchase percussion equipment and provide free tuition for young Ryde students.
Meanwhile, the Isle of Wight Council has been awarded £3,923 for testing to identify dyslexia among local residents, alongside support designed to unlock learning and employment opportunities.
Friends of Ryde Library will receive £3,952 to upgrade library facilities, including a new projector and screen to enable film shows.
Other awards include £9,000 for Ryde Sea Cadets to acquire and equip a Trinity-500 rowing boat, £8,000 to Ryde Town Council to increase the quality and capacity of the Ryde Information and Support Service and £7,517 for the Phoenix Project to acquire a mobile hoist and minibus wheelchair winch.
Age UK Isle of Wight has been awarded £6,159 to train volunteers to lead monthly meet-ups and support sessions for men aged over 50, while the Methodist Community Hall & Church will receive £5,000 to repair damaged floors.
Ryde Saints FC has secured £4,117 to help establish new teams for women and men living with mental health issues, Island Beach Netball will receive £4,000 to expand its beach netball programme and Ryde Inshore Rescue has been awarded £3,500 for new radios and personal locator beacons.
The Isle of Wight Story Festival will receive £4,295 for graphic novel workshops for Year 4 children in Ryde and a volunteer programme encouraging creative writing among young people and adults.
Ryde Neighbourhood Board acting chairman Rachael Randall has said:
“The board is delighted to have been able to support such a wide range of fantastic projects that will benefit all aspects of life in the town in the coming weeks and years.
“It was a very difficult job to pick the successful projects from so many applicants 90 in all. In light of the huge response to the grant call, we doubled the total grant available in this round from £100k to £200k.
“We would like to thank everyone who applied and assure them that this is just the start of the process. We know many organisations will be disappointed to have missed out this year, but this is only the start. We will run the programme again next year, and those who missed out this time are very welcome to apply again.”
The board is now working on plans for a separate grant programme for local businesses, with what it describes as sizeable funding due to be announced shortly.
A designated fund for health projects is also being considered.
Rachael added:
“The board is reaching an exciting new phase of the Pride in Place programme, as we are now able to begin releasing the funds into the community. Our major grants programme is still open until October 16.”
