Charitable Trust grant used to benefit girls and young women in Newcastle’s West End

A CLA Charitable Trust grant of £5,000 has benefited more than 300 girls and young women in Newcastle’s Elswick area over the last year though the work facilitated by West End Women and Girls Centre. Elswick is in the bottom 3% of most deprived areas in England (Indices of Multiple Deprivation).

West End Women and Girls Centre is the first and only open access, community based women and girls centre in Newcastle, they aim to build the power of women and girls, who have been and continue to be disenfranchised. They seek to drive positive change in the world, their community and in women and girls lives.

The CLA Charitable Trust granted the Centre £5,000 to support the salary costs of a youth and community worker over the last year. The worker facilitated activities on the Centre’s smallholding which benefitting around 321 girls and young women, aged 5 to 18, since the grant was made.

Day visits and camping residentials at the smallholding took in a number of countryside activities such as learning about agroecology; foraging; planting hedgerows and trees; sowing and harvesting vegetables; cooking their own food; making dens; looking after animals and having loads of fun.

The CLA Charitable Trust is funded almost entirely by subscriptions from members of the CLA (Country Land and Business Association), an organisation which represents 26,000 farmers, landowners, and rural businesses. The Trust provides grants to charities and community organisations across England and Wales who share its vision to help connect young people who are disabled or disadvantaged with the countryside.

West End Women and Girls Centre Farm Development Worker Jill Heslop, said: “The CLA’s grant was invaluable in creating opportunities for diverse women and girls from urban areas to enjoy the 3 Fs; fun, food and freedom in Northumberland’s great outdoors. Women and Girls working together to build power, passionate and determined to create social change in our community and now the countryside too.”

CLA Director North Lucinda Douglas said: “I am delighted that the CLA Charitable Trust has been able to support West End Women and Girls Centre with funding. They do so much good work in their local community, and it’s very pleasing to see how much impact their work has on positively shaping the futures of the girls and young women they work with.”

Bridget Biddell, Chair of the CLA Charitable Trust, said: “The CLA Charitable Trust is dedicated to helping those who are disabled or disadvantaged to visit and participate in learning experiences about the countryside, and last year alone 61 charities and projects received grants totalling nearly £240,000.”

Since its foundation in 1980, the Trust has given more than £2m in grants to a wide variety of organisations and projects. Horticulture sessions, new welly racks and nature trails are among the projects and good causes to benefit from thousands of pounds of funding from the CLA Charitable Trust.

For further information on the Trust and the grant application process, visit the CLA’s website by clicking here.

For more information on the West End Women and Girls Centre, see: https://westendwomenandgirls.co.uk/