Bognor community group looking for funding

A Bognor community group is looking to raise more than £9,000 to continue ‘helping those who have little or nothing’.
Danny Dawes. Photo: Kate Shemilt. ks190187-3Danny Dawes. Photo: Kate Shemilt. ks190187-3
Danny Dawes. Photo: Kate Shemilt. ks190187-3

Grandad’s Front Room CIC offers a place where 'all the community can come together with the aim of building a more cohesive, understanding, safe and caring community'.

A spokesman added: "We offer a safe, welcoming drop-in lounge where anyone can grab a free cuppa, a biscuit and have a sit-down for as long as they like. We also source and deliver free furniture, beds, lounge furniture, white goods, pots and pans, cutlery, curtains and indeed anything that is needed to create a home.

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"The front room donates free food to families in need and we are, funds willing, arranging a community allotment which will involve growing, nourishing food and providing cooking classes for the whole family."

The community group received £2,053 from West Sussex County Council towards purchasing recycled tools and materials.

A further £1,400 has been pledged on the county council run crowdfunding page West Sussex Crowd via Spacehive, but just under £6,000 is needed before May 1. Pledges will only be charged if the project hits its funding goal of £9,381 before the cut off point. Click here to donate.

Danny Dawes, who runs the community scheme, said: “This isn’t for a one off project. It will be for self sustaining [purposes]. It will keep us going for many years.

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“We have got £3,473 so far and then we’ve got £1,600 pledged in kind by community groups across Bognor. It’s for the tools, polytunnels, and everything we need in order to get that project up and running for two, three, four, five years. The project will definitely last at least for the next three years.

"One of the main messages we’ve got to get across is we are looking to local businesses and other groups who have funding pots, to look and see what would really benefit the community and give £100, £50 or whatever.

"It will be £200 a month nearly to keep five community allotments going and for hundreds of people to be able to access them. It’s all about bringing the community together for the benefit of everybody.”

Bognor residents Craig Pinkney and his son Connor volunteer in one of the community groups which would benefit from the funding, Dig It. Read their story here.