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Harrogate & District Community Action (HADCA) is one of a total of 12 of the region's fantastic grassroots organisations delivering pioneering and sustainable projects across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Cumbria set to receive a share of a £100,000 joint Community Partnering Fund.

The latest round of grants, funded by Northern Gas Networks and Northern Powergrid and delivered in partnership with Leeds Community Foundation, will enable the groups to broaden their support for the local communities they serve.

The Community Partnering Fund enables community groups to deliver schemes that tackle issues that are close to their hearts as utility companies – such as reducing fuel poverty, improving energy efficiency and safety know-how, and supporting projects that encourage more young people into science and technology subjects in schools and colleges to help create a more diverse workforce as the utility companies work to deliver a greener energy future for the region.

As well as providing a short-term funding boost, the Community Partnering Fund’s aim is to find organisations who can become long-term partners, by working with groups who are embedded in their local communities, having a much bigger impact.

Among the groups that are receiving funding grants are:

Harrogate and District Community Action (HADCA)

The grant will help to reach ‘under the radar’ individuals with information and education about energy efficiency, extra support for vulnerable customers and carbon monoxide poisoning during home visits to undertake practical jobs, and via mailshots to users struggling to access this information online.

Tangram Housing Co-Op, Leeds

Funding will support delivery of advice and materials to help reduce risk of fuel poverty and support for extra vulnerable customers, as well as the provision of communal facilities.

Parker Trust, Sunderland

Working with young people up the age of 25, the grant will support delivery of a STEM education programme to inspire creativity and spark critical thinking for the benefit of disadvantaged young people in Sunderland.

Deaf Awareness: NE (North Tyneside)

Funding will bring together deaf and hard of hearing people, along with their hearing counterparts, for a weekly get-together to discuss, debate and decide on effective uses of energy within their own homes and broader communities.

Michelle Cummings, Social Responsibility Manager at Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity network across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, said: “This fund is helping us reach into communities and give vital support to a diverse range of people and organisations at a time when they need it most."

Jill Walker, Social Strategy Project Manager at Northern Gas Networks, the gas distributor for the North of England said: “At Northern Gas Networks, we’re committed to helping our most vulnerable .

"The Community Partnering Fund, delivered in partnership with Northern Powergrid, is all about providing enduring support to organisations at the heart of the communities that we serve."

“We are very pleased to be able to announce this latest round of grants to some really fantastic grassroots organisations across the region, who will now go on to make a positive and practical difference to those living in their communities, as we continue to undergo a very challenging time after the pandemic.”

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