Doncaster Group receives £10,350 from Asda Foundation to transform their community space

The grants form part of a staggering £1.2 million in funding which has been awarded to 65 community projects across the UK. Ranging between £10,000 and £25,000, the grants will go towards the improvement of community spaces where local people can come together and thrive.

The initiative follows information from Asda’s latest community tracker, which revealed over 20 per cent of customers were concerned about the lack of community spaces in their area, with loneliness being ranked as one of the biggest challenges faced by communities by over 38 per cent of people.

Sew Mindful Crafts’ supports their community and the City of Doncaster by helping people connect, reducing isolation, building positive mental health and resilience, teaching new skills (including literacy and numeracy), building confidence, promoting independence and reducing costs and waste by teaching the skills to mend, repair and repurpose clothing/fabrics and accessories.

They collaborate with other mental health service providers and local community groups. Furthermore, they offer support to victims of domestic abuse. They are unique to Doncaster serving an area of some 200sq miles with over 300,000 residents, being the only venue providing the specialist equipment and trained tutors to be able to help people learn new skills. This allows people of all genders and physical abilities to access their services without finances becoming a barrier to learning.

The grant of £10,350 will cover two elements, firstly, the project will create disabled toilet facilities for their service users by converting an unused area, and secondly the project will also update their existing heating and cooling from a standalone air-conditioning unit and electric wall heaters to a more energy efficient system.

This will allow them to have better control of their environment in the winter and summer months and be much more cost effective to run. The whole front of their premises is made up of glass which is great for the light and a feel of open space but can also be too hot in the summer and cold in the winter. This will make their venue a more comfortable area throughout the seasons which will be better for staff and volunteers and everyone attending their sessions

Kimberley Brooke Customer and Community champion, Asda Doncaster presented the cheque to Mick and his volunteers at Sew Mindful Crafts and said “It was an absolute honour and a privilege to present this Asda Foundation grant for £10,350 to Mick and his wonderful volunteers at Sew Mindful Crafts.

"This money means the group makes some real fundamental changes to make the spaces more accessible as well as installing a new heating and cooling system. Mick and his team work tirelessly in the community, providing great workshops from learning how to sew to making jewellery and much more. I’m really looking forward to seeing the work get started.”

Karl Doyle, Chair of the Asda Foundation, said: “We know that safe and inclusive spaces can be a lifeline to many in our local communities, they offer a way for people to be together and are the home for many vital services and activities. Our Community Tracker tells us that many community groups are struggling to find the funding to maintain, develop and repair these spaces and that’s where we have come in to help. Through our Investing in Spaces and Places grants, and the wider Asda Foundation programme, we want to continue playing our part in uniting communities and reducing loneliness by improving community spaces and bringing people together.”