Impact Initiatives and Henfield Community Partnership are implementing an exciting new community project this summer but we need your help to get additional funding for transport.

The Henfield Day Centre for people with dementia was faced with closure but thanks to this partnership it has been saved and is now being transformed to be used by over 200 older people, including those with dementia. There is however one last hurdle we need to overcome to make this happen which is provision of reliable transport. In light of this, Impact Initiatives has applied for an Aviva Community Fund launching on Friday 1st May which means, if we get enough votes from the public before the end of the month, we could secure up to £10,000 for new transport and a driver.

Caroline Ridley, CEO at Impact Initiatives, explained,
“It is so important that we provide a community bus for our new project in Henfield, which is aimed at those aged 50 plus, as transport is a key issue when tacking loneliness and isolation.”

The Aviva Community Fund of £10,000 will provide Impact Initiatives with enough money to purchase a second hand minibus, along with all the necessary modifications for its users. The bus will help reduce isolation and loneliness for people with longer term and complex needs, including people with dementia and physical and sensory impairments. The way the grant work means that the more votes a project gets, the more chance it has of being chosen to receive the money – so Henfield Community Partnership and Impact Initiatives need people to vote for this essential new project.

The minibus would offer flexibility and security, especially for the people in Henfield who are living with dementia and can become anxious and need a bit extra time to get onto a bus. Having their own bus will also ease the stress on carers and ensure that they will have the ability to provide a variety of different services and trips.

Caroline, added:
“We need the minibus to help those with no other means of getting out and about to get to the centre and enjoy trips out with friends to places they can no longer get to. We really hope that all our friends and supporters take time to cast their vote and help us be in with a chance of winning this national grant. Impact Initiatives would welcome this grant not only to provide the best care for its users but also to ensure that carers too have the breaks and support they need.”

The Aviva Community Fund will finance over 362 entries across four different fund levels and four categories, spreading awards to communities throughout the UK. The main aims of the Aviva Community Fund are to make a positive impact to local communities, help a charity raise funds for a project which will be completed before December 2015 and provide money to community projects which can ideally be completed with the requested funding alone.