Local charities supporting older people in the Bailiwick are being encouraged to apply to the Pargiter Trust for grant funding.
Applications for this year’s Pargiter Trust Grants Programme opened on 27 February and will remain open until 28 March. As has been the case for several years, the Guernsey Community Foundation is managing the applications process.
Pargiter helps charities who work people aged 65 and over who live in the Bailiwick, particularly charities that focus on one or more of the following: improving health and wellbeing; improving access to facilities; providing advice and training; and resolving problems related to illness, injury, disability, bereavement and poverty.
Charities that help people of all ages can still apply for a grant, provided they can demonstrate that any funds received will be used exclusively to help Over 65s.
Jim Roberts, chief executive of the Foundation, said: “We’re pleased to assist Pargiter in identifying potential grant recipients and making sure the application process runs smoothly. Over the years, Pargiter has paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to charities across the Bailiwick, and in so doing made a positive difference to many people’s lives.
“Many older people live on very little. Over a third of Guernsey households living in relative poverty are single pensioners and couples where at least one person is over 65. And we know that the balance between working and non-working islanders is shifting and will continue to shift as the population ages and birth rates decline. All of this, plus the well-documented cost of living crisis, risks driving greater numbers of older people into poverty and putting further pressure on charities who support them.
“This is where Pargiter can make a difference, and this is why the Foundation is strongly encouraging organisations who need extra funding to come forward.”
Age Concern, the Ron Short Centre, the Holy Trinity Church and St Peter’s Church are among the charities who received help from Pargiter in 2022.
The Ron Short Centre received just under £10,000, which it used to run social clubs aimed at combating isolation and to operate a bus service which helps older people shop independently.
Age Concern received £2,500 to support its Liberation Day and Jubilee tea parties, while the Holy Trinity Church funded its Evergreens Senior Programme with a grant of £12,500. St Peter’s Church, meanwhile, received a donation of £5,750 to cover the costs of running its community café.
Charities wishing to receive funding should contact the Foundation’s Grants Manager, Anna Le Page by email. As part of the application process they will need to provide annual accounts and evidence that they apply appropriate safeguarding measures.
Nominations close on 28 March 2023.
Pictured: Companionship and activities to keep the mind active for the over 65s at the Ron Short Centre.
