Community groups in Speke to receive £15k funding boost

South Liverpool Homes (SLH), Merseyside Police, Onward Homes and Everton in the Community have once again reached out to community groups across Speke to bid for up to £1,000 of funding for their projects.

After a plea for local groups to apply in December 2020, 21 community groups have made it to the final stages of ‘Speke Up’, an event where it will be announced which groups will receive much-needed support from the £15,000 pot of Home Office Serious and Organised Crime fund.

Since 2018, Speke Up has been taking funding secured via the Proceeds of Crime Act, with additional funding from SLH and Onward Homes, and delivering it back into the community to support groups whose activities make a positive impact on serious and organised crime. This year Everton in the Community are also kindly contributing to the funding pot, meaning more groups across Speke will benefit.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this time Speke Up has gone virtual. Applications went live in December 2020 and closed on 22 January. Each group was asked to detail their project, how much they were bidding for and how their project would contribute to a reduction in crime in Speke.

All the finalists have been notified and have been invited to an online event on Saturday, 6 March when they will find out if their bids have been successful.

Selina Wall-Aldis, Customer Engagement Officer at South Liverpool Homes said:

“Speke Up is a fantastic initiative that we have been heavily involved with since its launch three years ago. We were unsure if it would go ahead this year due to Coronavirus pandemic so we were delighted when Merseyside Police gave it the go-ahead later last year.

“It comes at a time when local community groups, who have been hit hard by the pandemic, need this funding the most. The last 12 months have been tough for everyone, and we hope that this funding will help the groups to continue to deliver their activities and services to the Speke community for years to come.”

“I am confident their positive impact will be felt for a long time and I look forward to hearing how they progress in the months and years to come.”

Local Policing Inspector Neil Birkett said:

“We are really pleased to be able to contribute to this pot of £15,000, which is going towards worthwhile projects in Speke.

“The groups who have bid for this money are rooted in this community and who better than them to take control of how their community is developed and improved.

“We are committed to reducing the impact of Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) on our communities to protect the most vulnerable members of society from criminal exploitation. The project has worked to deliver a whole system approach to tackling SOC through activities that involve targeted interventions and building community resilience. It has helped the Speke community come together and become less tolerant of gang culture and organised crime groups.”

The Speke Up finalists

90 (Speke) Air Cadets

90 (Speke) Air Cadets is voluntary organisation that caters for young people aged 12 to 20. They’re bidding for funding to support their Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.

Amanda’s Day Service

Amanda’s Day Service is bidding to support the purchase of a minibus to provide transport to vulnerable adults to enable them to have access to local community groups and activities.

Ambrose Youthbase

Ambrose Youthbase is a volunteer-run youth club that’s bidding for funding to provide a six-week summer holiday programme for young people in Speke.

Attitude Performing Arts School

Attitude Performing Arts School works with young people in Speke aged 7-21. The group has doubled in size since the last round of Speke Up funding and they’re bidding to continue this growth.

Gemini Boxing Club

Gemini Boxing Club is an established boxing club in Speke. Covid-19 has highlighted a need more training equipment to deliver to smaller groups in safety. They’re bidding to purchase gloves, skipping ropes and other equipment.

Good Vibrations

Good Vibrations is a new community support group, targeting mainly disaffected and/or suicidal adult males. They are bidding to provide a safe, supportive and welcoming space for disaffected adults, through the medium of sharing music.

Grow Speke

Looking ahead to the end of the pandemic, Grow Speke has asked for funding to deliver a family fun event to celebrate our newly regained freedoms, once it is safe and legal to do so.

Kav’s Crusaders

Dance club Kav’s Crusaders are asking for help to fund a team bus that will be used to take dancers and families to competitions and on excursions.

L’Ecole De La Couture

Working across three venues in Speke, arts group L’Ecole De La Couture have bid for funding to help deliver an inclusive 12-month sewing/art and crafts programme for residents of the Speke community.

Liverpool Elite Majorettes

Liverpool Elite Majorettes are a volunteer-run majorette troupe based in Speke. Having been fortunate to get support from Speke Up in the past, they’re asking for money to help fund new audio equipment to allow the group to resume training.

Liverpool Fusiliers Majorettes

Established for over 30 Years, the Fusiliers have asked for funding to continue their work teaching, coaching and supporting young people to become majorettes, providing them with the confidence and skills to enable them to participate in competitions.

Merseybeats Majorettes

Merseybeats Majorettes is a dance troupe in Speke that has been active for over 25 years who embrace inclusion, equality and diversity in the community. They’re bidding for funding to continue the delivery of an activity which brings young people together in a fun, safe, respectful environment.

Noah’s Ark Centre          

Noah’s Ark Centre in central Speke is applying for funding to support the general running costs of the centre. Since the initial lockdown in March 2020, Noah’s Ark has continued to run a foodbank twice a week, providing vital support for many families in Speke.

Pensioners Club at the Commy

Pensioners Club at the Commy is bidding to fund their regular club for older people in Speke, helping to combat isolation and provide a safe and welcoming place for older people to come together.

Pensioners Help Group

If successful, Pensioners Help Group plan to spend their funding on a project to help older people in Speke keep their gardens clean and tidy. They will also help people with shopping and other small jobs.

South Liverpool Diamonds Majorettes

South Liverpool Diamonds Majorettes have requested funding to purchase new dance uniforms for the team and fund hall hire.

Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group

The Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group is a voluntary group based at the old Liverpool Airport and have a number of aircraft and a flight simulator on site. They have asked for funding to help maintain the facilities and aircraft.

Speke Balmoral Morris Dancing               

Competing for over 75 years, Speke Balmoral Morris Dancing club teach people from two years to adult. They encourage discipline, teamwork and respect while promoting fitness and wellbeing. They are bidding for funding to continue this work.

Spekekids          

Spekekids is a weekly club for children aged 4-11 years run by volunteers from Speke Baptist Church at Noah’s Ark Centre. They’re bidding for funding to continue their work of 21 years and evolve how they deliver their services through the pandemic.

Spoken Word and Creative Writing Workshops

Spoken Word and Creative Writing Workshops have applied for funding to deliver free online creative writing and spoken word workshops. The course would take place over zoom with the hope of meeting in person once lockdown restrictions end.

The Growing Old Together Project

The project aims this year is to purchase and cook food for the elderly within the Speke community. At Christmas 2020, the project cooked and delivered 54 meals and delivered 50 food parcels to local people. They need additional funding to continue this work