Penrose Roots, Social Interest Group’s garden-based project, has been awarded £413,004 from the National Lottery Community Fund.
The award will be disbursed over a three-year period and will help Roots to improve their service offering. Their plans include:
• Hiring two more Roots to Recovery members employed as staff on the programme
• Recruiting 20 volunteers
• Five Roots to Recovery members moving on to run the project’s Community Gardens
• Growing 600kg of produce each year with 70% donated to local food banks and community kitchens
• Clients feeling less isolated, thus improving their wellbeing and sense of belonging
• Reduction of reoffending in Roots to Recovery members with offending histories
• Improved health and wellbeing amongst members.
When informed of the award, Samantha Smith, Roots’ service manager, said: “Myself and the Roots team of staff, members and volunteers are over the moon with this excellent news. We have all put so much into the project and the sense of accomplishment and relief we feel is amazing. There has been blood, sweat and tears over the last three years to get this funding and now it is finally here we can watch our project grow.
“Seven years ago, when I started Roots on a Thursday afternoon at a small site in Luton, I always thought we could make this a bigger, better project and here we are. Thanks to the team, who are just the most amazing people I think I will ever meet, offering support to myself, each other, and our members through the good and the bad times. We deserve this and I really could not be prouder to be part of such an outstanding charity.”
The award will also allow Roots to purchase a much-needed new van that will assist them in taking more members and volunteers to gain new skills. It will also enable them to continue to grow the fantastic work they do across the community-based recovery services.
Read the full blog post here.
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