Seventeen local organisations and groups were awarded a share of £13,000 in council funding at the Mayor of Ely’s civic service.
Councillor Mike Rouse presented cheques to each of the following local groups with former mayor and councillor Brian Ashton.
• 1094 (Ely) Squadron Air Training Corps to help provide equipment for their Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme work
• Cambridgeshire Hearing for their work in supporting people with hearing loss
• Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue (CAMSAR) who work with the police in searching for vulnerable missing people
• Ely Neighbourhood Watch for additional signs
• Eddies whose volunteers work with young people and adults with learning disabilities
• Ely Museum to support the museum and its education programme. The museum has ambitious Heritage Lottery Fund supported redevelopment plans to bring it up to date and provide even better facilities for visitors, residents and educational groups
• EARTH which is an Ely-based horticultural charity at Larkfield working with adults with learning disabilities
• Ely Volunteer Centre for their work including Helping Hands whose volunteers have helped with 300 projects in the last year enabling people to maintain their gardens and the volunteer drivers who clocked up some 109,000 miles last year taking people for hospital appointments
• Relate, relationship counselling in Ely
• Highfield Ely Academy to support their work in developing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme for their students
• The Lighthouse Centre, Ely, for their Homepacks scheme to support homeless people
• All in Sound to provide music making and singing for people living with dementia and memory loss and for their carers
• Babylon Arts to help with their programme of creative workshops for families
• Stuntney Village Council for the printing of their village newsletter
• Pos+Ability for their work with chair-based exercises for those living with the effects of stroke, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and other long term conditions
• The Heligoland 39 Project to help publicise their commemoration of the RAF airmen who took part in this action in 1939 and bring together the families of the men and women both ally and German in a spirit of reconciliation
• Ely Youth Choir, part of Ely Choral Society, particularly for their work in developing an integrated youth choir with Highfield Academy Ely
The funding came from Ely City Council which, each year, invites organisations to apply for some grant support for their work.
The money comes from the council’s shared equity housing scheme, which started 25 years ago and was the idea of former mayor, Brian Ashton, who served the city twice in the role.
Cllr Rouse added: “That ground-breaking scheme provided 54 affordable homes for many families and the rent paid for the 24 per cent of the properties retained by the council created the grant pot.
“Over the years those grants have contributed well in excess of a quarter of a million pounds to local organisations. I think that is a great legacy for any mayor to leave to his city.”
Former Mayor of Ely, Cllr Liz Every, said: “It was a splendid evening. Thank you, Mr Mayor for reminding us just how important community is to us in Ely.”
Thanking those who attended the civic service, Cllr Rouse added: “Thank you to my chaplain the Reverend Michael Banyard for devising a lovely service and to the Reverend Chris Hill and all at St Mary’s for their hospitality.
“Special thanks to members of Ely Youth Choir under the direction of Andrew Parnell for singing so beautifully and for my daughter Cassie, the mayoress for doing the reading.
“It was great to see such a good turnout of the city’s St John Ambulance cadets, too - I really appreciated your presence.
“Thank you to my daughter Lauren for taking the photographs and to my other children Ben and Lee who came to support me and their sister, it was much appreciated.
“Finally thanks to colleagues on the city council for their support, especially immediate past myor Cllr Richard Hobbs who looked after seating our civic guests and was rewarded with a Chelsea mug.”
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