Craft centre handed £18,000 says it 'will make a massive difference'

Crowsmill Craft Centre, near Alveley, was awarded £18,200 from Severn Trent’s Community Fund. and said the money will make a "massive difference".

The charity arm of the water company said it is supporting more local charities this winter by providing £500,000 of core funding costs.

The Crowsmill Craft Centre centre provides help to a range of young people including those with learning difficulties or struggling with their mental health as well children that have been excluded from school, and co-founder Dickon Pitt said the money from Severn Trent will help the organisation grow.

"The money will make a massive difference," he said.

"We have wanted to push on, do more growth, start new projects and ideas but for the last five years we haven't been able to as we haven't had the manpower and the time."

He said the Severn Trent Community Fund has allowed the non-profit organisation to hire office assistant Tracey Winfield.

"Tracey has taken a chunk of my workload off me. Bringing Tracey on board has freed up my time so we can now grow. It is great to have somebody else in the office."

Mr Pitt said the craft centre, which has just celebrated its tenth birthday and was visited by the Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, has already made use of the new resources by signing the Armed Forces Covenant, to allow "long-lasting relationships" with veterans organisations.

Paul Evans, community communications lead at Severn Trent, said: “Charities are once again facing an incredibly tough time and now, more than ever, they need as much support as possible. There is a clear need to help organisations with core funding as we go into the winter months, a time when bills increase further, and charities can be hard hit during this time.

“That is why we have allocated £500,000 to help them cover these core costs, to give them peace of mind and help them through a tough winter so that they can continue to work hard for the communities they are based in.”

Severn Trent Community Fund Core Funding is currently open for applications until midnight on Sunday, December 10.

To find out more about the Community Fund, and how to apply visit www.stwater.co.uk/corefunding