A SOLIHULL charity has been given a cash injection to help some of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the borough.
The Colebridge Trust is one of eight community organisations across the region to be handed a share of £400,000 from the Commonwealth Games legacy fund.
The cash, which was given to groups by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will be used to help identify specific projects that can improve communities, and then act as a springboard to bring in further investment to help deliver them for instance new community facilities or services, regular events to improve health and wellbeing, or education and training opportunities.
The is new investment by the WMCA is part of a £2million plan to grow the social economy – the collective term for social enterprises, co-operatives, community-owned businesses and trading charities that use their profits to achieve positive community and environmental impact.
West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, said: “Across the region we have around 10,000 social economy businesses and organisations providing valuable jobs, training, housing and other services which are all being delivered by local people for the benefit of local people. These are underpinned by a central aim of doing good for their communities.
“This is why, as part of our plan to use Commonwealth Games legacy cash to help widen their impact, we’ve decided to put money directly into their hands to support them to identify and deliver even more ways in which they can make a positive difference to the lives and futures of local people.
“This is just the beginning of our £2million investment in an important but little-known area of our region’s economy, and it will empower communities in a way that will mean they can make sure that no one is left behind. I look forward to seeing how these plans progress and the positive impact they have on local people’s lives in 2024 and beyond.”
