Cheshire Community Foundation is proud to announce the recent grants awarded to a range of local charities in Crewe, supporting essential services for residents. People in Crewe are struggling with isolation and poor mental health, homelessness and addiction, and our young people lack opportunities and support. They urgently need help from local charities, and thanks to local donors those charities can begin their innovative projects without delay.
The funds have come from Bentley, Swansway Garages, Guinness Partnership, Boughey, Reliance Medical, PlusDane Housing, Baywater, and the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust.
Visyon
Visyon promotes mental health and wellbeing for children, young people, and their families across Cheshire. They continue to witness an urgently growing demand for their services, particularly in Crewe schools.
By offering one-to-one counselling, mentoring, and creative therapy groups, Visyon provides essential support for those dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, and self-harm. Their services create a safe environment for young people to gain confidence and improve their emotional health.
This grant will fund additional hours for their counsellor to provide crucial support outside of regular one-to-one sessions. Visyon has already embedded itself within local schools, offering 372 counselling sessions to 65 young people.
Hope 4 More
The Hope Project, run by Hope 4 More, has seen significant success in supporting young people through emotional wellbeing and mental health programmes. This grant will help them continue delivering their courses and expand the follow-on sustainability programme. In the past year, Hope 4 More has helped young people by reducing isolation, increasing interpersonal skills, and fostering aspirations. Young people have built friendships and social networks, changing lives that were previously affected by isolation. One young person has even started an online shop, thanks to the boost to their confidence from Hope 4 More, proving that when we invest in our community, it can pay dividends back to us all.
Trafalgar Entertainment Trust (Crewe Lyceum)
Young people in Crewe are often lacking in opportunities and the future can appear to be a narrow path into poverty. Cultural experiences and the arts can broaden horizons and enrich lives beyond belief. This grant will fund a range of activities for the Crewe Lyceum Young Ambassadors, including theatre tours, workshops with industry professionals, and involvement in key theatre events such as the Pantomime press night and a Storytelling Festival. These activities offer hands-on experience in various theatre roles, from marketing to hospitality, while also enabling participants to work towards Silver and Gold Arts Awards. Upcoming events, including a Family Fun Day and a festival collaboration with Just So Festival, will further strengthen young people’s connection to the arts.
Pure Insight
Pure Insight delivers a community-based mentoring programme that supports care-experienced young people (for example, those who were looked after by foster parents) in Crewe. Their approach pairs young people with volunteer mentors who provide at least two years of consistent support. These volunteers, recruited from the local community, undergo an 11-week training programme to ensure they are fully equipped to assist young people facing challenges such as mental health crises, substance abuse, or exploitation. The programme is flexible, with mentoring coordinators working closely with young people to build stability before matching them with a mentor.
Pure Insight’s tailored support also extends to young parents and those facing high-risk situations, providing critical outreach services that include tenancy support, crisis intervention, and help with accessing healthcare. This grant will allow them to continue expanding their life-changing work in Crewe.
Wishing Well
Wishing Well’s football project has grown significantly over the past eight months, providing vital support to vulnerable people, particularly those facing homelessness and addiction. The initiative offers much more than just weekly football sessions; it creates roles for participants, fostering responsibility and confidence. Individuals like Al, who has struggled with homelessness and addiction, now serve as assistant coach, while others have taken on leadership roles. In collaboration with Crewe Alexandra FC and the local homelessness team, the project provides wraparound support, helping participants secure housing, employment, and improved wellbeing through practical solutions like bus passes and gym memberships. This grant will help sustain and further develop the project in its second year, ensuring it continues to engage and support vulnerable individuals in the community for years to come.
