The Together Project, a London-based community programme which runs activities that unite different age groups, has received £10,000 of matched funding from Santander’s innovative Changemaker Fund.
The Fund was launched at the end of 2016 as part of a pioneering collaboration between Santander and rewards-based crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder. The programme is designed to help social enterprises, small charities and community groups deliver projects that improve communities and help disadvantaged people to have confidence in the future.
The Together Project creates experiences that unite young and older people in order to tackle loneliness, widen children’s understanding of society and help integrate local communities. It runs Songs & Smiles, a weekly singing and social group, which brings together babies and toddlers, their parents and elderly care home residents. The activity has has been running at a care home in north east London since July 2017 and has received very positive feedback from everyone involved.
The Together Project launched a crowdfunding campaign in October 2017 to enable it to set up Songs & Smiles at other care homes in the borough of Waltham Forest and more widely across the UK. The Changemaker Fund will enable the organisation to develop relationships with a larger number of care homes. The funding will also help pay for equipment such as musical instruments and bubble machines that make Songs & Smiles so enriching for both young children and residents.
Sue Douthwaite, Managing Director of Santander Business Banking, commented: “Loneliness is a very real issue for many older people across the UK, and we are delighted to be able to help The Together Project integrate communities and bring younger generations and the elderly together. We hope this funding will help expand this much-needed programme to additional care homes making a real difference to local communities across the UK.”
Louise Goulden, Founder of The Together Project, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded funding from the Santander Changemaker Fund. This money will make a real difference towards achieving our objective of a more age-integrated society. It will allow us to bring joy, music and friendship to older people across the country, many of whom deal with loneliness and isolation on a daily basis. And it will give hundreds of children the opportunity to get to know a generation of people who they might not ordinarily come into contact with in their day-to-day lives.”
The £200,000 Changemaker Fund, www.crowdfunder.co.uk/changemaker, is part of Santander’s flagship community programme, The Discovery Project, which aims to inspire people to have confidence in the future through projects that build skills, grow knowledge and support innovation.
By working together with Crowdfunder, Santander aims to enable entrepreneurs and community groups to tackle social challenges and create positive local impact. Eligible projects seeking funding of up to £20,0001 and focussed on skills, knowledge, innovation and wellbeing that get the crowd’s backing will receive 50 per cent of their funding requirement from Santander to ensure the enterprise reaches its target.
As well as access to the £200,000 matched funding from Santander, projects will benefit from crowdfunding team specialists with education, enterprise and coaching support to unlock further funds and create lasting impacts in communities across the UK.
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Notes to Editors
1 Under exceptional circumstances, enterprises could be eligible for projects up to £40,000 with 50 per cent of their funding requirement from Santander.
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2017, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c19,500 employees and operates through 826 branches (which includes 61 university branches) and 65 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas, and is among the world’s top banks by market capitalization. At the end of June 2017, Banco Santander had EUR 1.65 trillion in managed funds, 131 million customers, 13,800 branches and 200,000 employees. Banco Santander made attributable profit of EUR 3.6 billion in the first half of 2017, an increase of 24% compared to the same period last year.
About The Together Project
The Together Project runs creative activities with the aim of uniting children and older people in order to tackle loneliness, widen children’s understanding of society and unite local communities. The Community Interest Company was formed in 2017 and currently operates in north east London, with ambitions to expand across the UK in 2018.
For more information please visit: www.thetogetherproject.co.uk
Media Enquiries
Leonora Burtenshaw T: 020 7756 4543 M: 07701 004 107 E: leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk
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