Throughout the year, ACT supports causes special to colleagues across The Ardonagh Group and around the world.
Through our Community Grant programme, we provide the opportunity for any Ardonagh colleague to apply for up to £5,000 (or equivalent currency) towards a chosen charity to support a project or initiative in need of funding.
2023 saw a record-breaking £220,000+ donated in grants to over 45 charities, taking ACT's grant total to date to over £875,000.
2024 is set to be another year of giving back big, and in our first round of grants of the year, £54,200 has been awarded to 12 charities put forward by colleagues. Causes supported include a creating a café hub as part of a community allotment garden project, supporting the next generation of STEM leaders and establishing a new podcast to raise awareness of a rare form of cancer.
Read the stories behind each of the causes that have received funding and why they matter to the colleagues who nominated them.
Robin Cancer Trust has a hugely personal connection to Towergate colleague Jack, who grew up close to Robin, even playing in the same band as teenagers. The charity, founded in Robin’s memory in 2012, works to stop young adults dying from rare germ cell cancer (ovarian and testicular cancers) which generally affect younger people. The charity raises awareness of germ cell cancer and provides support to young people and their families to navigate their journeys.
The £5,000 grant from ACT will be used to create a new channel for the charity to share information and support – a podcast series, which will provide a valuable way to share stories, connect people, and develop understanding. Already, the Trust has received a small grant from Macmillan Cancer to buy recording treatment, and now with the additional funding from ACT the podcast and go into development.
Stand4Good promotes youth employability in Porto and across Portugal. Established following the impact of the pandemic on education and opportunities for young people, the charity seeks to help young disadvantaged people access higher education and develop skills to see them succeed.
In Portugal, 10% of the poorest children do not achieve any form of higher education qualification, affecting social mobility and feeding into generational poverty. The grant of £5,000 from ACT will enable 50 students to take part in Stand4Goods Lead programme, which provides a range of support including mentoring, professional skills workshop and volunteering.
Future Transformation CIC is all about engaging with young people and unlocking their potential as future leaders in science, technology and maths (STEM). Through their work, they’ve already reached over 50,000 students across northern England to inspire them to pursue education and careers connected to everything from research to space exploration.
The £5,000 grant from ACT will be invested into Future Transformation’s ‘Helping communities connected to our people shine brighter’ project, which aim to specifically support disadvantaged young people develop skills. The project has three main areas: specialised training programme to increase employability, acquiring technology infrastructure and software to ensure a high quality learning experience, and a mentorship programme.
Atlanta colleague, David, has been part of the Hattersley Bigs Community Garden project in Manchester for several years. The garden is so much more than an outdoor space, it is a nexus for community activity and a place where people can find company or solitude as suits them.
David and his wife first got their allotment at the start of lockdown, and experienced first hand the difference outdoor living can have on wellbeing. Since then, David volunteers regularly in the Elderberry Cafe, which despite being loved is in much need of repair.
With the £5,000 ACT grant, the café roof will be fixed and insulated, which will ensure the space can be used all year round. David plans to expand the café to create a ‘Seedlings Club’ for young people and their families. The forest school area will also be upgraded and the polytunnels recovered – ensuring this much-used community garden can continue to be a welcoming place for all members of the local area.
Motherwell Chesire CIO is a service for women by women, through educational services, resources and mental health support. Their key project areas include a programme to help women whose children are on a protection plan, a wellbeing hub to support long-term mental health, and a community share hub that provides access to vital clothing, equipment and supplies without referral.
The £5,000 grant from ACT will go towards the charity’s summer programme, which runs over July-September, a period when the hub experiences a major increase in demand owing to the school holidays. Over this time, the hub is open for longer hours and provides extra services, such as school uniforms.
The Lester Portrait Prize is a Australia-wide initiative which seeks to invest in both community and art. The prize includes a Youth Award programme, which searches across Australia to provide opportunities for young people, no matter their personal circumstances, as well as working alongside children’s hospitals, elderly people in residential care, schools and indigenous groups to broaden access to art.
The £5,000 grant from ACT will be used to invest in The Lester Prize’s reach, to inspire even more artists, of any age and any background. This campaign aims to inspire artistic leaders and educators to mentor young creatives throughout the entry process – so that even more young people can see the arts as a world they can access.
Every working day, two construction workers in the UK die by suicide – and stress, depression and anxiety account for over 27% of all sickness leave take by workers in the industry. Lighthouse aim to reduce construction workforce suicides and mental health impact by offering support and services, and by making mental health visible they hope to help those working within such a tough industry be more aware of the support available to them.
The £5,000 grant from ACT will go towards Lighthouse’s ‘Make it Visible’ tour across the UK and Ireland, with a dedicated team visiting construction sites and businesses to deliver informative yet engaging talks for a whole day, one-on-one support, and help to establish safe places for conversation.
Community Safety Education (CS) seeks to reach all primary and secondary aged children (5-16 years old) across the UK to promote safety awareness in the community and strengthen societal connections. CSE has a range of programmes dedicated to key topics, including hate crime, drug misuse and bullying – to inspire responsible future generations.
The £2,200 grant from ACT will enable two schools to benefit from CSE’s Money Wise financial literacy programme, which aims to make sure teenagers leave school with knowledge, skills and behaviour to manage money well, and and Respect Your Life programme, which focuses on crime and bullying.
Instituto Bola Ne Rede is based in São Paulo, Brazil, and supports over 200 children and their families through the power of sport. The charity offers activities from swimming to ballet and football.
The £5,000 ACT grant will fund the creation of a new library – in a space which has already been secured from the City Hall. The library will provide a free service to borrow books and an environment where young people supported by the charity can learn in a positive and safe environment. Initially the library will be for the children and teenagers helped by the charity, but the aim is to then expand its services to adults too.
Dillon Quirk Foundation was founded in memory of top hurling sportsman, Dillon, by his parents and sisters, after he died suddenly on the pitch. The foundation raises awareness of SADS (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome) across Ireland, with a primary focus on young sports people. The charity all offers cardiac screening for 12-18-year-olds involved in sport, to prevent other families experiencing the same loss they have.
Each week, two people die from SADS in Ireland. However, research has shown that screening can reduce the incidence of SADS by almost 90%. The £5,000 grant from ACT will enable 70 young people to access screening (which costs around ~£70 each) – using a mobile screening clinic.
Cornwall, in southwest England, has a low population density – meaning fewer employment opportunities and an often-underappreciated rate of poverty. St Petrocs was the first organisation in the county to provide services and support for people experiencing homelessness. The charity has grown to have 24 properties across Cornwall, providing vital accommodation for over 160 people, and a much-valued outreach team.
In 2023, St Petrocs helped 1,350 people, 189 of which were also support through their employment and skills services. The charity is seeing higher and higher demand and so the £5,000 grant from ACT will be invested into the St Petrocs’ outreach team. This highly skilled team of four people travel across Cornwall, providing a hugely valuable one-on-one approach. Last year, 550 people were helped by the Outreach team, who support in a range of ways including applying to local councils for long term accommodation, accessing benefits, employment skills and job interviews.
In the UK, over seven million people have some stage of kidney disease – meaning nearly 10% of the total population are living with kidney disease. Symptoms can often get worse over time and as a chronic illness treatment journeys are lengthy, with risks of developing other conditions increased too.
Mental wellbeing is a vital part of treatment, as 1 in 3 patients with kidney disease experience depression. The £2,500 grant from ACT will fund 250 counselling sessions for people affected by kidney disease, to ensure patients do not feel alone and have a listening ear to turn to through their journey.