Charity jumps for joy at funding thanks to BDM
It’s our mission to grow, protect and support independent UK insurance brokers, helping them to serve their communities. We’ve also had always had a culture of supporting our people and their neighbourhoods.
Since joining Ardonagh in July 2020, our team has been able to tap into the Ardonagh Community Trust’s (ACT) charity funding. One of our very own BDMs, Fintan Griffin, put forward a cause close to his heart, Jump Space – a small charity located in the heart of Stockport that provides trampoline-based therapy and sensory play activities for disabled people of all ages and abilities.
Through ACT’s grants and Fintan’s nomination, Jump Space was awarded £4775. Marie Fisher, CEO of Jump Space, says the funding will allow more people to benefit from their unique therapy and activity services.
Marie told us, “We specialise in providing activity for people who find it difficult to access physical activity any other way. We are open to all with every session available to people with or without a disability. Pre-Covid, Jump Space welcomed over 500 people per week to our centre, and I’m delighted to say we reopened on 12th April. We will be working hard to rebuild our numbers.
“The funding we’ve received is great. As a small charity, we find it difficult to access grants. As we were closed for most of last year, a lot of people have missed the activities we provide. The grant will help us rebuild and extend our services to more people over the coming year.
“We are going to purchase two smaller trampolines than the standard models. We will use them to develop outreach services in the wider community, supporting people who find it hard to get into the centre. This new provision will help us to reach some of the most vulnerable members of our community who are desperate to access activities to improve their health and wellbeing.”
The £4775 grant Jump Space has been awarded will allow Marie and the team to cover the cost of the two new trampolines.
Fintan’s nomination for Jump Space struck a chord with the ACT board of trustees. As Ashley Hammond, Communications and Trust Manager, explains, “It’s always a challenging job for the trustees to choose the community grants each quarter. However, the quality of applications and the causes that were put forward in the first round of 2021 were exceptional.
“Fintan’s application for Jump Space was one of those awarded and the trustees loved how the charity was adapting to meet the challenging circumstances that Covid has presented, and also how they were future-proofing and making their fantastic services available for more children. I was delighted that this was something we were able to facilitate.”
Introducing Ardonagh Community Trust’s Bright Future Prize
The latest initiative from Ardonagh Community Trust (ACT), The Bright Future Prize, aims to inspire and empower the next generation of community leaders across the UK and Ireland by asking how they would use a grand prize of £20,000 to help their community of choice become better, brighter and stronger.
Alongside the main prize, ACT is making a smaller pot of funds available for any projects that catch the attention of the Trustees as well as mentoring support for all recipients.