Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund pledges nearly £29,000 to local causes

More than a dozen charities and not-for-profit groups within 10 miles of Manchester Airport have received a boost after being granted funding by the hub’s Community Trust Fund.

The Community Trust Fund, which was set up in 1997, is managed by a committee of trustees from the local area alongside representatives from the airport. It makes pledges worth up to £100,000 every year to groups across an area including parts of Manchester, Tameside, Trafford, Stockport and Cheshire. Groups are able to bid for up to £3,000 of funding for initiatives with a clear and lasting community benefit.

Donations agreed at the latest meeting totalled almost £29,000, spread between 14 groups.

In Cheshire, Friends of Styal Station will receive a grant, with more than £2,500 allocated for a project that will see new seating and green spaces installed at the railway station. Gemma Nichols, a volunteer with the group, said:

“This funding will enable us to add the first outdoor seating at the station, providing a comfortable space for train passengers before their journey but also offering a safe space for anyone to come and relax and enjoy the plentiful wildlife which we’re so fortunate to have. A variety of herbs will be grown in the planters alongside the seating which will provide food for pollinating insects and anyone in the community can come down to the station and help themselves to the variety of herbs on offer.”

Other groups to receive funding include Crystal Chords (pictured), a women’s barbershop chorus based in Stockport who received almost £3,000, and Paddlers For Life, a Manchester-based Dragon Boat racing team made up of cancer survivors, particularly breast cancer: they will get more than £1,600 towards new equipment.

Robert Pattison, Chair of the Community Trust Fund, said:

“We are thrilled to have been able to support such a wide array of good causes with this latest round of donations. There are so many fantastic community-led projects across Greater Manchester and Cheshire which often don’t get the recognition they deserve, but we’re proud to support them with the funding they need to serve their local communities, via the Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund.

“The deadline for applications ahead of the next meeting is Saturday 7^th September, so if you are working on a community project which could use some extra help, please visit our website to apply.”