Rye Fund Awards 2020 - with the mayor of Rye

This report of the presentation is taken from the story on Rye News

Successful applicants for the latest round of Rye Fund awards gathered at the town hall last Wednesday, January 15. They were welcomed by Charles Bronsdon, chair of the grant-making panel, and received individual certificates from the mayor, Councillor Michael Boyd. Each recipient made a brief presentation explaining to the assembled company the purpose for which the grant was needed by their local voluntary organisation.

Chris Emson, with Janet Sherwood representing the Rye branch of the Bexhill food bank, spoke of the continuing need for food parcels to support Rye families; the Patients Participation Group at the Ferry Road Health Centre is planning to hold events at the new Rye Hub, for which funding would be needed, said Veryan Pollard.
The purchase of a new safety/rescue boat for the Rye Harbour Sailing Club Sailability project will be part-funded by the Rye Fund award said Caroline Wylson. Pat Hughes welcomed the Fund’s continuing support for Rye and District Community Transport. “This is more than a bus service, it is a club”, said Pat. Phillip Whiteman accepted the award on behalf of Rye and District Sea Cadets for upgrading the "heads", the naval term for changing room and toilet facilities.

Brenda Snashell of Street Pastors

 Brenda Snashell outlined the work of the Rye and District Street Pastors, and Jane Fitch was warm in her acknowledgement for the Rye Fund’s financial backing for the Rye Christmas Festival. Martin Blincow spoke movingly about the work of Rye Cricket Club in encouraging younger players. Kirsty Doherty reported enthusiastically on the Rye Festival of the Sea, now in its third year. Jo Kirkham for Rye Museum thanked the Fund for help with the creation of the new study area at the East Street site.
Richard Moore, chair and founder of the Rye Wurlitzer Academy (RWA), had been prevented from attending by the seasonal bug going around. He sent a message though noting that “RWA is now in its 10th year and 120 students at Rye College have gone through our very special project in that time. We currently have not only a national champion but also a runner up from the competition that took place in London last March. This year the Young Theatre Organist competition is in Solihull in July where we will once again represented.”


Sandy Spencer on behalf of Strandliners reported on the effort to keep our coastal environment litter-free. This new group seeks to identify and record the sources of waste whether emanating upstream from the Rother river or seaward from shipping. Finally, a grant was made towards replacement windows at Winchelsea New Hall, represented by Robert Mortimer.
The awards mark the 11th year of grant funding made by the Rye Fund. Over that time, nearly £60,000 has been distributed to local voluntary organisations. The fund is administered by the Sussex Community Foundation, a registered charity, serving the whole of Sussex. Charles Bronsdon thanked members of the local panel for their work in judging the applications and congratulated the award winners for their commitment to creating a caring community throughout Rye and district. The next award round will be in October 2020 and applications will be welcomed from all quarters from both new and current applicants.

Rye Fund Awards presentation 2019

The award winners at the Town Hall presentation 

    

The Rye Fund held an awards ceremony at the Town Hall last Wednesday January 16.

This marked the 10th round of awards made by the Rye Fund, bringing the total close on £50,000 of grants to local voluntary organisations since it was started in 2008.

Local panel chairman Charles Bronsdon welcomed all this year’s winners, who each of whom received a certificate from the Mayor, Cllr Michael Boyd, and then outlined briefly the purpose to which their award would be put:

Jane Fitch receives the award from the Mayor

Jane Fitch for the Christmas Festival thanked Rye Fund for support in commissioning a Tenterden-based performing arts company to create a programme of street entertainment.

John Lanigan, standing in for Jo Kirkham, welcomed the funding to support the project to digitalise the Museum’s collection of 35mm film and glass slides.

Liz Butt receives the award from the Mayor

Liz Butt for the Music Well said that the funding will be used to expand the provision of music therapy to children and young people who are living with abuse and difficult circumstances.

Robert Mortimer, for Winchelsea Village Hall, welcomed the grant which would to help upgrade the kitchen facilities by renewing the floor covering.

John Wylie for the Camera 1066 Club said that the funds would be used to support evening events for members seeking to improve their photographic skills.

Laura Evans receives the award from the Mayor

Laura Evans for Playden WI would make use of the funding to maintain the car park and surrounding hedges at the hall.

Richard Moore receives his award from the Mayor

Richard Moore for the Rye Wurlitzer Academy would put the funding towards operating costs in providing free tuition and free home practice instruments for pupils learning to play the Wurlitzer theatre organ.

Members of the Rye Fund local panel and steering group were on hand to meet and talk with all those attending the awards evening. The next annual grant round takes place in November, with final applications due September 13. The maximum grant available is £2,000.

The Rye Fund announces a new round of grant-giving

Applications are invited from voluntary organisations in Rye and District for grants of up to £2,000 from the Rye Fund. 

Last date for entries is September 14^th  2018 

For further information, visit : Sussex Community Foundation - how to apply 

and scroll down to Round 2 – Rye Fund 

or email info@sussexgiving.org.uk 

or you can speak to a member of the grants team  Tel:  01273 409440.

The Rye Fund at Sussex Community Foundation was formed in September 2008 and gave its first grants out in November 2009. 

The Rye Fund is an endowment fund of which an agreed percentage of the annual interest accrued is used to make grants to charities and community groups that benefit the local community, with an emphasis on improving social, cultural and educational provision, promoting the well-being and viability of the market town of Rye as a sustainable social and economic hub of the surrounding community, and improving and maintaining the built environment of Rye.

Since then, the Fund has given grants totaling over £42,000.

Last year’s awards went to groups as diverse as the Northiam Community Friends, Peasmarsh Flying Start Pre-School, ARRCC Theatre, Rye & District Community Transport; Rye Christmas Festival, Rye Community garden and Rye Museum Association

Rye Fund Awards - Round 9

The seven representatives at the Town Hall

Seven community organisations from Rye and district received substantial grant awards from the Rye Fund at a ceremony in Rye Town Hall on Wednesday January 17. The Rye Fund has been making awards of cash to local charitable and community organisations for nine years, and the latest grants were handed out by Charles Bronsdon, chair of the local panel which evaluates applications, and Councillor Jonathan Breeds, the Mayor of Rye.

This year’s recipients showed a breadth of organisations and a range of applications that highlight how the Rye Fund helps community organisations to help a very wide community.

Northiam Community Friends received £500 which it will use to pay for DBS checks for its volunteers as well as training and insurance to enable people in the village to help others.

Peasmarsh Flying Start is using its £1,200 award to pay, among other things for small solid chairs for the toddlers at its pre-school.

ARRCC theatre is using £1,000 to go towards much needed portable heaters which will make the theatre at the Rye Creative Centre a much more appealing venue for wider community use.

Rye Museum’s £751 award will go to pay for a new projector, the current one having packed up, and a range of touchy feely objects like rope, soap and lace for children to handle in order top get to grips with the town’s (ig)noble past as a smuggling venue of international note.

Rye Christmas Festival used its £1,500 award to pay for the specialist skills and workshop guidance that saw paper lanterns made and used by the children from four local schools in a procession that lit up the recent 2017 Festival.

Rye Community Garden was given £500 which will help pay for some much-needed co-ordination form a paid helper in order to drum up interest in the wider community.

Rye & District Community Transport received £1,500 which is being used to support the 326 Bus Service that runs 6 days a week and attracted 21.570 passengers in the year to December 2017.

The Rye Fund was started in 2008 by a group of philanthropists who put £20,000 of their own money into an endowment fund with the intention of using income from the fund to help community organisations. They formed a steering group now chaired by Kenneth Bird, which in turn appoints a Local Panel to assess applications and make grants. The funds themselves, plus charitable status and governance are provided by Sussex Community Foundation, whose Stephen Chamberlain came from Lewes to the ceremony.

Kenneth Bird said: “The fund has grown through investments, government grants and further generous donations from individuals to reach over £120,000. This year we were able to distribute £7,000. Whilst we are very much geared to supporting smaller organisations with grants in the hundreds of pounds if that is what needed, we will next year be able to offer a maximum size of grant of £2000, which might prove more attractive to larger groups.

“The local panel would be delighted to speak to potential applicants and to receive applications ahead of next year’s deadline in the September 2018.  We like to see money working and are thrilled to help local organisations help others!”

The Rye Fund announces a new round of grant-giving

Applications are invited from voluntary organisations in Rye and District for grant funding up to £1,500 from the Rye Fund. 

Last date for entries is September 15, 2017.  

For further information, visit :  http://sussexgiving.org.uk/apply-for-grants/how-it-works/ and scroll down to Round 2 – Rye Fund or contact info@sussexgiving.org.uk or you can speak to a member of our grants team  Tel:  01273 409440.

The Rye Fund at Sussex Community Foundation was formed in September 2008 and gave its first grants out in November 2009. 
The Rye Fund is an endowment fund of which an agreed percentage of the annual interest accrued is used to make grants to charities and community groups that benefit the local community, with an emphasis on improving social, cultural and educational provision, promoting the well-being and viability of the market town of Rye as a sustainable social and economic hub of the surrounding community, and improving and maintaining the built environment of Rye.

Since then, the Fund has given grants totalling over £35,000.

Last year’s awards went to groups as diverse as the Camber Community Group; Counselling Plus; Playden WI; Rother Youth Group; Rye & District Community Transport; Rye & District Dementia Action Alliance; Rye Harbour Sailing Club; Rye Wurlitzer Academy, and Rye Museum Association

Grants awarded to nine groups in 2016

Presentation in Rye Town hall.  Photo : Hugh Kermode

Winners in the latest round of Rye Fund awards gathered in the Council Chamber at Rye Town Hall last Wednesday January 18. Nine voluntary organisations received a total of £5,800, to help finance a variety of new projects and running expenses.

Kenneth Bird, chairman of the steering group, welcomed them and explained the origins of the Fund and how it is able to provide regular annual assistance from its endowment fund, administered by the Sussex Community Foundation and dedicated for use of local charities in Rye and District. Since its foundation in 2008, with the benefit of generous individual donations and government matched funding, the Fund has achieved an invested endowment fund of £120,000 and given grants totalling more than £35,000 to local voluntary organisations.

A representative of each recipient stepped forward to receive a certificate and give a brief description of their group’s work. These were:

• Camber Community Group, represented by Julie Kemp and Mike Botten
• Counselling Plus by Verra Papaspyrou and Jenny Willsher
• Playden WI by Joan Taylor and Amy Breeds
• Rother Youth Group by Meg Stone and Chris Hollands
• Rye & District Community Transport by Pat Hughes
• Rye & District Dementia Action Alliance by Daliea Redman;
• Rye Harbour Sailing Club by Caroline Wylson and Richard Hopper;
• Rye Museum Association by Jo Kirkham
• Rye Wurlitzer Academy by Richard Moore and Michael Wooldridge.

Also present were the Steering Group and local panel members, with town clerk Richard Farhall and Stephen Chamberlain from the Sussex Community Foundation. For the first time we had a video recorder operated by Hugh Kermode so that the proceedings can be embedded on the Fund’s website.

Presentation of Rye Fund awards at Rye Town Hall
 by Mayor Bernadine Fiddimore

2015 AWARDS PRESENTED BY RYE MAYOR

Rye Fund's annual awards presentation was held at the Town Hall last Wednesday, January 20. The eight voluntary organisation award winners were welcomed by John Holbrook, chairman of the Rye Fund local panel and were presented with certificates by the Mayor, Cllr Bernadine Fiddimore. 

Also present were Laura Williams of the Sussex Community Foundation and other members of the Rye Fund panel and steering group.

Each award recipient was invited in turn to outline their group’s project and purpose for which the grants would be used. This gave an interesting window on their often unsung contributions to the local community.

Lizzie Chapman representing Age UK 
told the assembly that the £300 award 
would help cover the cost of the Christmas party 
for 20 older people from Brede and the surrounding area.

Samantha Birks -  Camber After School Club 
said the £1000 
would be used to run cookery classes 
for children to learn how to cook and eat healthily; 

Vera Papaspyrou -  Counselling PlusCommunity
 would put the £1000 award towards
 their hardship fund for local residents. 

Jo Kirkham -  Rye Museum Association, 
will spend the  £353 grant 
on a new laminator
for protecting literature and display materials; 

Pat Hughes - Rye and District Community Transport 
would use the £1000 grant 
towards running costs for the 326 bus route;

Debbie Perfitt -  1st Rye Scout Group 
received £1000 
to help pay for finishing off the front of the new Scout Centre
 and providing fencing and hard surface areas for activities.

Jo Devlia  - St Michael's Hospice, 
received £1000 
to support Hospice at Home visits to Rye beneficiaries; 

and finally, 

Dan Lake - Tilling Green Residents Association 
received a grant of £500 
towards start-up costs towards establishing the 
Association as a community interest company.

FOUNDING MEMBER OF STEERING GROUP STEPS DOWN

The other news item is that Robert Bromley who was one of the founding members of the Rye Fund has resigned from the steering group.

Kenneth Bird, the steering group chairman thanked Robert Bromley for his contribution over the last nine years to the formation and development of this community fund. This has now reached the £100,000 total endowment sum, enabling annual grants to be made to voluntary organisations in Rye and District at a sustainable level even in these times of economic difficulty.

He also expressed appreciation for the input of the Sussex Community Foundation in managing the fund's resources and so competently providing team support.