* Partnership chief officer Margaret Sutherland.
A Denbighshire social enterprise is in the running
for a major award after boosting the economy of the south of the county by over
£4 million in just three years.
South Denbighshire Community Partnership (SDCP) has
been short-listed in the prestigious Steve Morgan Foundation Awards for its
pioneering work in the Dee Valley area, including Llangollen, in fighting rural
poverty and isolation.
Their services were extended to the Llangollen area
in January after they won a £500,000 lottery bonanza to fight rural poverty in
the Dee Valley with the cash to be spread over four years to autumn 2024.
Now they are appealing for local supporters to vote
for them in the awards which cover North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire, in the
over £250,000 category for Charities and Social Enterprises making the Most
Local Impact.
In the past three years SDCP, a grant-funded
community charity with its headquarters at Canolfan Ni in Corwen, has helped
local people claim unpaid benefits, introduced community transport along the
Dee Valley, run a meals on wheels service and even pioneered a hydro-electric
power scheme.
That quarter of a million figure is dwarfed by the
economic and social impact made by the small team and their willing volunteers
that operate from the community centre of Canolfan Ni on London Road, Corwen,
and which extended its services to Llangollen earlier this year.
SDCP Chief Officer Margaret Sutherland said: “We’re thrilled to have been short-listed for
this major award and for a small organisation here in the Dee Valley to be
named alongside major charities and organisations from across Liverpool and
Cheshire.
“We feel it is recognition for the work we and the
people of Corwen and the Dee Valley have done to make life better for the local
community and in particular for those suffering from poverty and loneliness.
“Now we’d just like to appeal to our many
supporters to help by voting for us at https://stevemorganfoundation.org.uk/ by the end of the year as those votes will count towards 20 per cent of
the final decision.”
The awards were launched in 2001 by
multi-millionaire businessman Steve Morgan CBE, the founder and former chairman
of housing giant Redrow who lived in Ruthin for a number of years and even
played rugby for the local club, and over the past 20 years his Foundation has
donated over £300 million to charities.
SDCP’s work locally with Citizens Advice Denbighshire
(CAD) has helped people in the Edeyrnion area claim £1.8 million in benefits
in just over two years with 70 per cent of that money spent locally and with
each £1 estimated to be spent three times, providing a £4.1 million boost to
the Dee Valley economy.
SDCP Chief Officer Margaret
Sutherland added: “We have received huge support from the Wales National
Lottery Community Fund and worked closely with CAD who were an integral part of
the bid that we made for funds to fight rural isolation and rural poverty.
“We are working to reduce
fuel poverty through the Corwen Energy Local scheme and we also work with CAD
on their school uniform recycling and on helping people reduce their energy
costs and on debt.
“This is helping people in
very difficult circumstances, many of them are very worried about debt but
although they were eligible for these benefits but they just weren’t claiming
them.
“We work across so many
areas of need and the activities we organise and provide at Canolfan Ni are so
important as are the links our Meals on Wheels service and prescription and
grocery deliveries create with some of the most isolated people in the
community.
“We live in a spectacularly
beautiful area but often that beauty hides real poverty as well and its part of
our mission to reach out to people in need and connect them to their
community.”
Among the most recent activities to be launched at
Canolfan Ni is an arts and crafts group run by mum-of-three Kelly Kibble-White,
from Cynwyd, who said: “SDCP are great and they work so hard here.
“I became involved because they organised
activities for the children over the summer and it really was a lifeline for
me.
“They do so much and the vulnerable in our
communities rely on them so much.”
SDCP also receives funding support from other
sources including Betsi Cadwaladar Health Board, Morrison’s, Moondance,
Community Foundation Wales and Cadwyn Clwyd, while continuing to work closely
with Denbighshire County Council on joint Community Development and Community
Transport schemes.
Their rural transport services include bus trips on
their 16-seater community minibus
while their fleet also includes a Toyota Rav 4 hybrid SUV and an MG electric
and a Peugeot van cars, used for dial-a-ride and meals on wheels service – they
also provide two electric vehicle charging points at the rear of Canolfan Ni.
The Partnership serve Corwen and the surrounding
villages of Glyndyfrdwy, Carrog,
Cynwyd, Llandrillo, Gwyddelwern, Betws Gwerfil Goch, Melin Y Wig and
Bryneglwys, an area covering 100 square miles and this year extended its
activities down the A5 to Llangollen.
Community Engagement
Officer Sally Lloyd Davies said: “This is an area where there is a great deal
of rural poverty with older people often living in isolated areas and in the
pandemic it has been a very frightening time for them.
“At the height of the pandemic
we have been a vital link for many isolated people, bringing them shopping and
prescriptions, making regular buddy phone calls for a chat and just being a
friendly face dropping in.
“We sent out a flyer to
every household in Edeyrnion, over 1800 homes, with a phone number for people
to contact us and our volunteers have been brilliant whether it’s
taking calls or making deliveries and making phone calls to vulnerable people
to make sure they’re well and just to have a chat with them.
“Every Tuesday we’ve been phoning the people who
registered for our shopping service to take their orders, we’ve done the shop
on Wednesday and we deliver on Thursdays.
“There’s been a great response to our appeal for
donations to the food bank as well and we’ve kept people up to date with posts
on Facebook.”
* For the latest information on SDCP go to https://www.facebook.com/sdcpartnership and for those in need of support contact SDCP on 01490 266004.
