A new fund aiming to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for good causes across Warrington will be launched tonight (Wednesday) after statistics from a Census revealed one in two households in the town are ‘deprived’.
The ‘Warrington Fund’ has been created by the Cheshire Community Foundation and will aim to pool resources to achieve the greatest impact possible for families and communities in the town.
The launch comes after it was revealed there has been a 280% year-on-year increase in people visiting Warrington Food Bank, and that one in five residents have no qualifications.
The fund, which will be opened at a special event at the Parrs Bank Hotel, will aim to address pressing issues such as poverty, illiteracy, mental health, and hidden homelessness.
It’s been launched following an increasing number of Warrington charities dissolving – and applications rising for funding from charities to plug some of the gaps in provision that now exist.
It will work by prioritising the most pressing issues or needs across the town, as well as campaigning for more funding for good causes.
Ahead of the launch, Melanie Sproston, CEO of Cheshire Community Foundation said: “Over the past few years, we have recognised more needs to be done to support Warrington communities and families. One of the most economically successful towns should not have some of the worst poverty statistics in the UK so we need to act on this now.
“Our purpose is to support local charities by providing them with the necessary funds to enable them to carry out essential projects to help families facing significant challenges. The Warrington Fund will play a crucial role in empowering these charities, allowing them to reach even more families in need – doing more with less.
“We look forward to officially launching the fund and sharing further insight with our key stakeholders about our ambitions for the fund and establishing our shared goals for Warrington over the next five years.”
Warrington charity Jump – a previous benefactor of the Cheshire Foundation
In light of new research, the charity has recognised more needs to be done to address the persistent growth in poverty statistics. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation asserts Warrington families have one of the lowest household incomes in the northwest. Oxford Consultants for Local Inclusion states 22% of Warrington residents have no qualifications; and, according to the Centre for Social Justice, one in five of the town’s children are persistently absent from school.
On March 13, CCF will hold a launch event for the Warrington Fund at Parrs Bank Hotel in Warrington, with the initial aim to raise more than £500,000 over the next five years.
The launch event will share further research and insight into the need across Warrington, achievements to date and the ambitions for the fund with key stakeholders.
Charities will be eligible to access the fund from April. To find out more, visit the CCF website https://cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk/
ACCORDING to the Census data for 2021, almost 1 in 2 households in Warringotn are ‘deprived’.
48.1% of Warrington households are deprived according to the four measures the ONS census data use for deprivation.
These are Employment, Education, Income, and Health and means that 1 in 2 households are deprived in at least one of these four ways.
This comes out to 43,541 households in Warrington, with 14,505 of these households being deprived in 2 or more dimensions.
Almost 3,000 households are deprived in three or more of the dimensions measured by the census.
