Shared Lives Plus, which is launching its Homeshare scheme in Scotland, is one of ten charities to receive £50,000 as part of Ecclesiastical Insurance’s Movement for Good awards.
The awards, set up by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, have seen a total of £1million given to charities across the UK this summer. 500 charities have already been awarded donations of £1,000 and now 10 charitable organisations will benefit from £50,000 grants.
Shared Lives Plus, which aims to build communities where everyone lives a full life by sharing lives and homes, was one of 10 charities1 selected from over 1,000 entries.
The fund will allow the charity to develop its Homeshare scheme in Scotland, a project that carefully matches someone in need of support to live independently with someone who has a housing need and can provide care. The project fosters mutually beneficial and enriching relationships across communities.
Each of the £50,000 awards are designed to support the advancement of education, skills, arts, culture and heritage, as well as citizenship or community development. Applications were assessed against four key areas; impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.
Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “Our Movement for Good awards have been met with an overwhelming response. A huge number of charities have submitted projects for the £50,000 grant and it’s clear that charitable organisations are in need of support now more than ever.
“We believe this financial boost will create long-lasting improvements for communities and support charity workers during what is an incredibly testing time for many.
“Ecclesiastical is a unique financial services group. Owned by a charity, our core purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society. Charitable giving is at the heart of our business and we are proud to be able to give all available profits to the good causes which are important to our customers.
“We know that £50,000 can make a huge difference to the life-changing work that charities do and we are looking forward to seeing how these awards will help make people’s lives better.”
Ben Hall, Development Manager at Shared Lives Plus, added: “I didn’t expect to win at all and when we were told, I was delighted! For us, this project would not be taking place in the coming year without the award from Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good. It really is as simple as that.
“Homeshare will be a new idea in Scotland and it is vital that we raise its profile. Our goal is that we want to bring shared living to more people and create a kinder and stronger society. This grant allows us to create those plans.”
An amazing 253,879 people around the UK supported the Movement for Good awards during its first phase earlier this year, with over 13,695 charitable causes up and down the country receiving votes. The 500 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated.
Phase two saw 1,059 project submissions for the £50,000 awards. Following a review of all the applications, a panel of judges made their final selection of the winning projects2.
For further information on the Movement for Good Awards and for a full list of the winning charities phase visit: www.ecclesiastical.com/movement-for-good
1. Full list of 10 winning charities:
Breast Cancer UK Limited – Digital Learning to Prevent Breast Cancer
Shared Lives Plus Limited – Developing Homeshare in Scotland
Tastelife UK – Youth Track Development
Power2 – Teens and Toddlers
The Challenger Trust – My Journey: Challenger Trust in Birmingham Schools
The Lily Mae Foundation – Baby Loss Support Service Enhancement
The Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust – Project Langley
Thomas’s Fund – Kettering General Hospital, Pen Green Children’s Centre and Community & Family Connections scheme
Parents Plus Company Limited by Guarantee – Transforming Intellectual Disability Services across the U.K. and Ireland with The Parents Plus Special Needs programme
Tackling Awareness of Mental Health Issues – Resilient Active Youth
Winning charity videos:
The Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust
