On 2 September Genesis Community, part of Genesis Housing Group, held an awards ceremony at the Naim Dangoor Centre on Harrow Road, Westminster, to hand out cheques to grassroots community groups around London.

Nineteen recipient groups which help create life-change opportunities in communities around London and the South East received cheques ranging from £830 to £2,000.

A total of £27,969 was handed out from Genesis' Community Chest Fund and The Knowles Trust Fund. These funds form part of Genesis' Small Grants programme, which is managed by Genesis Community, the Group's charitable arm.

Genesis Community's Small Grants funding programme began in 2005. It aims to help community groups, at grassroots level, to improve the quality of peoples' lives and/or contribute to the regeneration of their local, or wider, neighbourhood. There is a special focus on those communities within areas where Genesis Housing Group customers exist in London, Greater London, Hertfordshire and Essex, though it is not necessary for recipients to be customers.

Groups can apply for funding of up to £2,000 from Genesis' Community Chest, or up to £3,000 from The Knowles Trust Fund.

Applicants need to show that their project meets at least one of our three priority themes: Employment Training and Education; Older, and/or Vulnerable People; and Young People. The following are just three examples of recipients on the night (further case studies, photos and quotes available upon request): English Lessons At Home [ELAH] met Genesis Community's Employment Training and Education criteria and received £2,000 from the Genesis Community Chest (case study below).

Stoke Newington Neighbourhood Panel comprises an older persons club whose aim is to promote healthy living and community cohesion in Hackney. This group met Genesis Community's Older, and/or Vulnerable People criteria and received £1,782 from the Knowles Trust Fund.

Broken Silence is an organisation that campaigns for the rights of young people with Sickle Cell Disease and raises awareness through creative industries and a school outreach programme. Broken Silence met Genesis Community's Young People criteria and received £2,000 through the Genesis Community Chest.

Iain Mackechnie-Jarvis, Head of Genesis Community, said "Genesis Community works hard to reach as many people in the communities in which Genesis operates as possible. Through Genesis Community's Small Grants programme, many more people are able to benefit in communities throughout London, as the funds support the building of people's futures. It is wonderful to see how far these small grants go and reach into the hearts of London communities, improving the lives of so many people. We are very proud to be associated with these inspiring organisations and look forward to seeing them develop further."

CASE STUDY
One of the recipients, English Lessons At Home (ELAH), received £2,000 last year and another £2,000 in the current round for the second year of their pilot project.

ELAH provides English lessons at home for people unable to attend mainstream classes due to
disability, family or care responsibilities, social, familial or financial constraints. They also recruit and train volunteers to deliver this.

Between September and May 2008 they have achieved the following:

• Recruited and trained 10 volunteers to provide English lessons at home.
• Signed up 10 students to the programme, six of whom were residents in Genesis sheltered schemes, and five of whom were referred from other agencies such as Home Start Westminster and BME organisations. (Their youngest student is 19, the eldest is 84).
• The Genesis grant enabled ELAH to receive further funding from Grassroots Westminster, which is a grant scheme funded by the Government Office for the Third Sector, to help fund the training of volunteers.

Evelyn Cantor, Chair of English Lessons at Home (ELAH), said on receiving her cheque for £2,000, "Genesis Community does a tremendous job in reaching out and improving people's lives in London and the South East. This cheque will not only help ELAH secure more funding to continue and expand the project, it will enable us to hire office space (we are currently operating out of the Chairperson's home!) and expand the geographical area we serve. Thank you Genesis!"

- Ends -

Photo caption 1: Evelyn Cantor, Chair of English Lessons at Home (ELAH) receives a cheque for £2,000 from Stephen Woolridge, Chair of Springboard, also part of Genesis Housing Group

For more case studies, photographs, full list of recipients, or further information on Genesis Community, its Small Grants Programme, please contact Diana Evans on 020 7563 0028 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk .

Notes to editors

GENESIS HOUSING GROUP
Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most diverse housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 40,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

GENESIS COMMUNITY
Genesis Community was set up in 2005 by Genesis Housing Group. It is a charitable foundation created to fulfil Genesis Housing Group's commitments to address the challenges of deprivation and social exclusion in disadvantaged areas. Projects delivered by Genesis Community focus on the key themes of young people, vulnerable and elderly people, safer communities, financial inclusion and training and employment.

SPRINGBOARD
Springboard joined Genesis Housing Group in April 2005 and currently supports more than 5,000 households in 24 local authority areas across London, Essex and Hertfordshire. In addition to general needs housing, shared ownership and leasehold properties, Springboard specialises in supported housing for the elderly and people with special needs.

CRITERIA FOR APPLICANTS
Applicants need to show that their project meets at least one of our priority themes:

• Employment Training & Education - working with and supporting unemployed people and/or young people not in education, training or employment (NEET) into employability programmes to upskill, (re)train, break down barriers to employment, access opportunities and improve their life chances. This can include volunteering.

• Older People and/or Vulnerable People - working with or supporting older and/or vulnerable people to improve their quality of life at home or in their local/wider community.
• Young People - working with or supporting young people to improve their opportunities and improve their quality of life at home or in the local/wider community.

ABOUT THE GENESIS COMMUNITY SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME
Genesis Community Chest is one of three funding streams that make up the Genesis Community Small Grants programme.

The second funding stream is the Knowles Trust Fund which funds any charitable group within London, Hertfordshire and Essex that is connected with the provision of housing and any associated amenities for people aged over 55 who are in need owing to a physical or mental disability. Applications are welcome throughout the year as the Genesis Community Board meet quarterly to assess applications and allocate funding.

The third funding stream is the Genesis Community Chest - Bonus Round for Woodberry Down Estate fund which forms part of Genesis Housing Group's commitment to the regeneration of Woodberry Down Estate. Genesis has made a pot of £10K available for community groups from Woodberry Down to encourage and empower local people to realise project ideas that will contribute to improving their community. Grants of up to £1,000 are available to community groups from Woodberry Down Estate for this purpose. This grant is open until February 2010.