Organisations and community groups in Dorchester are being encouraged to apply for a grant of up to £10,500 from the Prime Foundation to help towards local projects or initiatives.
The Foundation invests in communities where Prime has built new facilities by utilising a proportion of profit generated, ensuring that money is invested locally for good causes with each new build.
Prime are currently working with Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on a number of development projects which aim to improve the experience of patients, staff and visitors. As a result they are now accepting applications from all Dorchester postcodes. Dorchester-based projects matching one or more of the foundation’s aims – advancing education outside the classroom, promoting good physical and mental health and/or furthering the enhancement of social wellbeing through recreation – will be considered for full or part funding.
This will be the Prime Foundation’s first grant rolled out in Dorchester. In 2019, the Prime Foundation provided funding for a specially adapted bicycle, otherwise known as a trishaw, for a charity in Southampton, Sustrans, who aim to make outdoor activity accessible.
The trishaw enabled volunteers to connect with elderly members of the community, who are most at risk of isolation and loneliness, to enjoy the outdoors.
Genna Handley, Sustrans representative, said “The trishaw has had an impact in helping the older generation look for activities, connecting them with communities and the environment which has been so important for their mental health.”
Last year, in Birmingham, the Prime Foundation funded tools for a community wood recycling project run by the Jericho Foundation, made possible by the development of Birmingham Hospital car park and Harborne Hospital.
This foundation provides support in the form of practical work and training to members of the community who have come upon hard times, whether that be due to homelessness, addiction, ill health or low confidence.
Hannah Cashmore, spokesperson for the Prime Foundation, said: “We are pleased to announce applications for funding open to the Dorchester area and hope this will serve the community through those that know it best. We are looking forward to hearing from groups in need of financial support to start a new project or improve an existing one in order to enrich lives in the local area.”
Applications for funding are open from now until the 1st of November 2022. For more information or to make an application visit www.primeplc.com/foundation/apply.
