Community groups awarded almost £10,000 in grants 

Four organisations providing help and support to the town’s residents have been awarded grants totalling just under £10,000 from Weymouth Town Council. 

STEPS Club for Young People, Citizens Advice Central Dorset, Weymouth Museum, and Life Education Wessex and Thames Valley all had their applications approved at last night’s Finance and Governance Committee meeting. 

STEPS will use the grant of £2,368 towards running a healthy lifestyle project for up to 70 young people. The pilot scheme will provide sports and activities, arts, and educational sessions on diet, online safety, mental health issues, and how to build resilience, and valuable 1 to 1 support sessions.  

£2,998 was awarded to Citizens Advice Central Dorset towards a six-month project looking at the cost of living crisis. The organisation will highlight help that is available to residents in the most deprived areas of Weymouth through face-to-face and online sessions, giving people the tools to maximise their income, reduce their debts and seek help to reduce the impact of the crisis. 

Weymouth Museum was awarded £2,500 to help with their community engagement work, extending their offer to families in Weymouth, especially during the school holidays. Representatives from the museum said they felt this work would be beneficial in developing people’s mental health as well as being educational. They would also like to develop a dementia group.   

Life Education Wessex and Thames Valley secured £2,115 towards the cost of providing its ‘Helping Children Make Healthy Choices’ programme. This will see educators providing health, emotional well-being, and drug education sessions to school children at St Nicholas & St Laurence, Wyke Regis Federation (Infants & Juniors) and Holy Trinity Primary. 

Committee Chair Cllr David Gray said: “The grants awarded by Weymouth Town Council are designed to benefit a range of residents who need help and advice on a range of issues, including the current cost of living crisis. I would encourage other groups and organisations to get in touch with us if they would like the town council’s support with a particular project that will benefit the community.” 

Got an idea to the benefit the community that you need some financial assistance with? Visit the grants section on our website to download an application form and apply for funding.