Port of Dover announces beneficiaries of its Coronavirus Emergency Fund

The Port has today revealed the ten charities that have received a portion of its £40,000 Coronavirus Emergency Fund.

The Port announced in April that it was setting aside funds through its Community Fund to provide instant support to local charities in Dover caring for those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak.

From supporting young families, the elderly, the homeless and people with disabilities, through to organisations that improve wellbeing and mental health through art, social interaction and household financial support, the Fund has been spread across a wide range of local organisations (listed below).

Doug Bannister, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover said:

“We are really pleased to have offered this timely support to many different areas of the community as we navigate through these challenging times – it’s inspiring to see such a variety of organisations benefiting from the Fund. I hope our donation helps provide them with the resources they need to continue their amazing work caring for our local people and plan for a bright future ahead.”

Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said:

“A huge thank you to the Port of Dover Community Fund for supporting the Kent Community Foundation Coronavirus Emergency Fund with a generous donation of £40,000.

The grants team has awarded grants of between £1,000 and £8,000 to ten good causes working within the Dover area. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the county during this pandemic and our Emergency Fund has to date raised over £1.1m and is still open for donations. New applications from charities and community groups in Kent and Medway can be made by visiting kentcf.org.uk/funding/Coronavirusemergencyfund“

The organisations and their funding include:

Home-start Dover – £7,000 – The grant will be spent on essentials for families struggling to cope and get to the shops, as most of them do not have transport, live rurally or are caring for disabled children. This will also cover running costs, including keeping staff in paid employment to ensure services can still be provided during and after the crisis.

Dover Smart Project – £5,000 – The funding will help to replace the vital mental stimulation and social interaction provided by the art club for their members with online activities and support, as well as to ensure that their staff do not experience financial hardship through loss of work (sessional workers).

Riverside Centre (Age Concern Dover Ltd) – £5,000 – To support their meals on wheels project, which has gone up from eight beneficiaries per day to 21 per day in the last few weeks.

Pavement Pounders Community Interest Company – £1,000 – The grant will help the organisation to keep in touch with isolated elderly people during this crisis and provide moral and practical support.

Emmaus Dover – £2,250 – This grant will allow the organisation to continue to work on the frontline delivering food parcels to Dover’s homeless people and deal with the drop in income for main activities such as housing, employment and support to vulnerable residents.

Kent Coast Volunteering – £8,000 – This will allow this organisation to set-up the technology to support remote working, pay volunteer expenses to support phone calls working from home and core salary costs.

The Alkham Valley Community Project and Therapeutic Riding Centre – £4,000 – To help the organisation with running costs for three months whilst the riding centre is closed.

The Pegasus PlayScheme – £3,500 – This grant will enable the group to pay for their running costs for three months as they continue to provide a much-needed service within the community.

PWRR and Queen’s Regiment Museum – £1,500 – This grant will support this organisation which totally relies on public donations for its running costs. The funding will help them keep afloat until the reopening of the museum to the general public and school groups.

Talk It Out Mental Health Support Group – £3,000 – The organisation plays a vital role in feeding its vulnerable and disadvantaged community.   With the grant they will deliver 120 basic food and essentials bundles to vulnerable people with mental health issues.

ENDS