The Isle of Wight Literary Festival’s schools programme, 2 Island carnivals and a community project featuring a giant recycled plastic seahorse are among 7 good causes to receive a share of almost £13,000 in the latest round of WightAID funding.
A total of £12,950 has been awarded to organisations across the Isle of Wight, supporting projects ranging from literacy and disability access to environmental initiatives and grassroots sport.
The largest grant, worth £5,000, has been awarded to the Isle of Wight Literary Festival’s Schools’ Programme.
The funding will help deliver visits by 24 children’s authors to every school on the Isle of Wight as part of the Year of Reading, to inspire young people to develop a love of books.
Dawn Haig-Thomas, Schools’ Programme Director for the Isle of Wight Literary Festival, has said:
“This grant is vital to us.
“It costs around £25,000 to put on this programme and it is important on the Island, where literacy levels are below the national average.”
With carnival season underway, both East Cowes Carnival Association and Sandown Carnival Association also received funding.
East Cowes Carnival Association was awarded £500 towards new costumes for its revitalised Christmas Carnival, while Sandown Carnival Association received £450 to purchase new promotional banners.
Environmental charity Planet Aware was also awarded £500 to support its beach cleaning and nurdle removal programme.
Plastic collected during its clean-up efforts has been used to create a 52ft-long recycled plastic seahorse, which is appearing at several Isle of Wight carnival parades this summer.
Community organisation Pan Together received £1,200 to expand its Tea, Talk and Togetherness sessions beyond Newport to communities across the Island. The initiative brings people together over cream tea while helping staff identify those who may benefit from additional support.
Disability charity Isle Access was awarded £4,300 to purchase a new Tomcat tricycle, enabling more disabled Islanders to take part in community events and activities throughout the year.
Meanwhile, Wight Eagles FC, the Isle of Wight’s only all-female football club, received £500 to buy equipment for its new under-8 and under-10 teams.
Based at The Bay Academy in Sandown, the club currently has around 120 women and girls registered across its teams.
WightAID distributes grants to charitable and community organisations across the Isle of Wight, helping support projects that benefit local residents. Those wishing to support the charity’s work can make a donation here.
