CALA Homes’ £10K Community Bursary Scheme Set To Return Following Phenomenal First Year
Representatives from the 12 charities that received a share of CALA Homes (North) £10,000 community bursary met with the luxury housebuilder’s Sales and Marketing Director, Fraser Carr to review the success of the campaign.
The meeting took place at CALA’s office in Westhill to recap how the substantial sum has been used throughout the past year to help each local charity and organisation. Successful applicants included Alzheimer Scotland, which requested funds to run a music reminiscence group at its Dementia Resource Centre in Aberdeen, and Woodside Junior Club, which received a sum to enable disadvantaged children in the area to attend a pantomime last Christmas.
Sunrise Partnership SCIO used the bursary funding to purchase four puppets for use in counselling sessions with children in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire who have been affected by loss and bereavement, whilst Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (Aberdeenshire) were able to fund an art therapist to run clay sculpture sessions for stroke groups in the region.
Louise Sutherland, Senior Corporate and Major Gifts Fundraiser at Children 1st, said: “CALA helped us provide a month’s worth of therapeutic support sessions for ten local children through a £1,000 donation from its community bursary fund.
“The meeting was a lovely opportunity to thank the staff at CALA and tell them how much of a difference the donation made by enabling us to continue to help children, young people and their families in Aberdeen who have been affected by abuse, trauma and neglect.”
The community bursary initiative was unveiled as part of celebrations to mark the housebuilder’s 140th anniversary in Aberdeen.
The scheme is set to return next year with local charities, community groups and organisations once again able to apply for a share of the bursary to help fund a project which makes a vital difference in and around the local community.
Application forms will be available in January 2017 and must be completed by applicants stating the amount they would like to secure and what the money will be used for to be in with a chance of securing funding.
Fraser said: “It was heart-warming to have the opportunity to meet with each of the 12 charities that received a share of the community bursary last year to hear first-hand how the donation made a difference.
“The initiative was such a success we are launching it for a second year. Our 140th anniversary has started a wonderful legacy which we hope to carry on into the future.
“We are looking forward to helping more fantastic local causes next year once again and welcome all groups in the area to complete the application once the initiative has been launched.”
The further eight successful applicants included Grampian MS Therapy Centre, Grampian Deaf Children's Society, Maggie’s Aberdeen, Aberdeen Science Centre, SensationalALL, GCRA Ltd, and CLAN.
