Speke community groups get £19K funding boost

Published: 9 March 2021

Community groups in Speke receive £19K funding boost

Twenty one community groups in Speke have benefitted from £19K of funding for their projects when they took part in a virtual event on Saturday 6 March.

South Liverpool Homes (SLH), Merseyside Police and Onward Homes reached out to community groups across Speke to bid for up to £1,000 of funding.

After a plea for local groups to apply in December 2020, 21 community groups from the area applied for this much-needed funded to help boost their projects. Each group was asked to detail their project, how much they were bidding for and how their project would contribute to a reduction in crime in Speke.

The groups were delighted to find out they will ALL receive money from this £19,000 pot of Home Office Serious and Organised Crime fund when the ‘feel good’ event, called Speke Up, took place on Saturday morning, headed up Merseyside Police.

Since 2018, the Speke Up events have accessed Home Office funding with additional funding from SLH and Onward Homes, and delivering it back into the community to support groups whose activities make a positive impact on serious and organised crime.

Lindsey Winberg from Kav’s Crusaders dance troupe said, “This is huge! Well done to everyone and thank you all so much. It’s amazing that we are all given this opportunity! We are well on our way to getting our coach. Looking forward to making good use of this coach with not just our dancing family but also OUR community."

Mark O’Brien from Gemini Boxing said, “Speke Up! Fantastic event again this year, SLH and Merseyside Police have again outdone themselves and managed to award everyone. Amazing - the Speke Up event shows how many people are willing to give their time to help the Speke community. Our funding will help us ensure a Covid-secure return to the gym use allowing us to have more numbers to attend.”

Selina Wall-Aldis, Customer Engagement Officer at South Liverpool Homes said: “Thank you so much to all of the Speke community groups who’ve taken part in this year’s event. It was great to see so many familiar faces and a few new ones too. Best of all we didn’t have too many ‘you’re on mute’ moments!

“We hope that the money you’ve been awarded will help you deliver your projects as lockdown eases and life gets back to normal. It’s been a challenging year but together we’ve shown that our community is made stronger by working together.”

Local Policing Inspector Neil Birkett said: “It’s great to see that this Home Office funding has made such a big impact in the community of Speke, the ‘Speke Up finalists’ event brought together a variety of groups from a number of different backgrounds who will now receive this funding, which will be a big boost.

“Protecting the public can’t be done through enforcement alone, and we recognise the absolutely vital role community-based groups have in offering opportunities to people of all ages in the area.

“We are committed to supporting Speke Up and will continue to do everything we can to support the local community, so that these groups are able to continue their work to improve people’s lives, and in many cases support our most vulnerable people.”

The Speke Up Winners

90 (Speke) Air Cadets

90 (Speke) Air Cadets is a voluntary organisation that caters for young people aged 12 to 20. They bid for funding to support their Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.

Amanda’s Day Service

Amanda’s Day Service bid to support the purchase of a minibus to provide transport to vulnerable adults to enable them to have access to local community groups and activities.

Ambrose Youthbase

Ambrose Youthbase is a volunteer-run youth club that will use the money to provide a six-week summer holiday programme for young people in Speke.

Attitude Performing Arts School

Attitude Performing Arts School works with young people in Speke aged 7-21. The group has doubled in size since the last round of Speke Up funding and the money will help them to continue this growth.

Gemini Boxing Club

Gemini Boxing Club is an established boxing club in Speke. Covid-19 has highlighted a need more training equipment to deliver to smaller groups in safety. They will use the money to purchase gloves, skipping ropes and other equipment.           

Good Vibrations

Good Vibrations is a new community support group, targeting mainly disaffected and/or suicidal adult males. The money will be used to provide a safe, supportive and welcoming space for disaffected adults, through the medium of sharing music.

Grow Speke

Looking ahead to the end of the pandemic, Grow Speke will use the funding to deliver a family fun event to celebrate our newly regained freedoms, once it is safe and legal to do so.

Kav’s Crusaders

Dance club Kav’s Crusaders will use the money to fund a team bus that will be used to take dancers and families to competitions and on excursions.

L’Ecole De La Couture

Working across three venues in Speke, arts group L’Ecole De La Couture will use the money to deliver an inclusive 12-month sewing/art and crafts programme for residents of the Speke community.

Liverpool Elite Majorettes

Liverpool Elite Majorettes are a volunteer-run majorette troupe based in Speke. They will use the money this time round to help fund new audio equipment to allow the group to resume training.

Liverpool Fusiliers Majorettes  

Established for over 30 years, the Fusiliers will use the money to continue their work teaching, coaching and supporting young people to become majorettes, providing them with the confidence and skills to enable them to participate in competitions.

Merseybeats Majorettes

Merseybeats Majorettes is a dance troupe in Speke that has been active for over 25 years who embrace inclusion, equality and diversity in the community. The money will be used to continue the delivery of an activity which brings young people together in a fun, safe, respectful environment.

Noah’s Ark Centre         

Noah’s Ark Centre in central Speke applied for funding to support the general running costs of the centre. Since the initial lockdown in March 2020, Noah’s Ark has continued to run a foodbank twice a week, providing vital support for many families in Speke.

Pensioners Club at the Commy 

Pensioners Club at the Commy will use the moeny to fund their regular club for older people in Speke, helping to combat isolation and provide a safe and welcoming place for older people to come together. 

Pensioners Help Group

Pensioners Help Group plan will spend their funding on a project to help older people in Speke keep their gardens clean and tidy. They will also help people with shopping and other small jobs.     

South Liverpool Diamonds Majorettes              

South Liverpool Diamonds Majorettes will use the money to purchase new dance uniforms for the team and fund hall hire.

Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group

The Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group is a voluntary group based at the old Liverpool Airport and have a number of aircraft and a flight simulator on site. They will use the funding to help maintain the facilities and aircraft.             

Speke Balmoral Morris Dancing

Competing for over 75 years, Speke Balmoral Morris Dancing club teach people from two years to adult. They encourage discipline, teamwork and respect while promoting fitness and wellbeing. They money will help them to continue this work.

Spekekids         

Spekekids is a weekly club for children aged 4-11 years run by volunteers from Speke Baptist Church at Noah’s Ark Centre. The money will be used to continue their work of 21 years and evolve how they deliver their services through the pandemic. 

Spoken Word and Creative Writing Workshops

Spoken Word and Creative Writing Workshops will use the money to deliver free online creative writing and spoken word workshops. The course would take place over zoom with the hope of meeting in person once lockdown restrictions end.

The Growing Old Together Project

The project purchases and cook food for the elderly within the Speke community. At Christmas 2020, the project cooked and delivered 54 meals and delivered 50 food parcels to local people. They additional funding will ensure this work continues.