On Tuesday 4th February, the Equity Foundation invited its friends, partners and colleagues to join them in celebrating its first year of serving as a community foundation.
Covering South Manchester, Trafford & Stockport; the Equity Foundation has managed to invest over £165,000 in to 76 grassroots community projects and charities since it was first established in January 2013, directly benefitting around 15, 000 local people.
Representatives from many of the 76 projects funded by the Foundation attended the event at Stockport Art Gallery, including the Mayor of Trafford and the Deputy Mayoress of Stockport. Deputy Mayoress Jacqueline Hawkins said:
“It’s a pleasure to learn about the positive impact that the Foundation is having in the Stockport community and the surrounding areas”.
The event provided a great opportunity for projects to meet and connect with one another, forging links and creating possibilities for future collaborations between charities and organisations across Trafford, Stockport & South Manchester.
Art was exhibited by Foundation-funded projects Arts for Recovery in the Community and Artism UK; an organisation which supports artists on the autistic spectrum and holds seasonal exhibitions on their very own narrow boat. Guest speakers included Helen Clayton of local charity Manchester Action on Street Health and Terry Snowden MBE of The Heroes Project. Both delivered inspirational speeches about the work that their organisations carry out in the Manchester area, as well as the positive impact that Equity’s support has had on their work.
David Fisher, CEO of Equity Housing Group said:
“We are delighted with our first anniversary event. It provided a showcase for many of the groups that we have supported through the Foundation. The improvements they make to people’s lives is inspirational and drives us to do more”
With plans for the Foundation to extend its community reach further across Equity Housing’s stock area in the near future, the group look forward to another year of investing, inspiring and improving within local communities.
To find out more about the work of the Equity Foundation, visit: www.equityfoundation.co.uk