News
June 2023
Celebrating donating over £100,000 since the fund began
On Wednesday 21st June representatives from past projects that have received ARISE Hatfield funding and the Partners of ARISE met and celebrated the fund reaching over £100,000 of donations since the fund first began. Here are some photos from the event:
November 2022
The ARISE Hatfield committee had their quarterly meeting in November and provided funding to 7 fantastic Hatfield projects. Since ARISE Hatfield begun back in 2013 we have funded 125 Hatfield projects with total funding of over £107,000.
The projects that have received funding in this round are:
Brightside Preschool
Funding: £1,487.17
Brightside Preschool opens in January 2023 and their mission is to make childcare and early years education affordable and accessible to all children in the Hatfield community. The funding provided will enable them to purchase outdoor play equipment such as a storage shed/rainsuits/stacking water tables, toddler climbing frame/gutter stands/bamboo channels/football goals, balls and pump, hoops and football cones.
For more information please visit: www.brightsidepreschool.co.uk/
Druglink
Funding: £1,500
Druglink is a substance misuse charity based in Hertfordshire. Their objective is to change the future for people who are, or could be, affected by substance misuse. They achieve this through Addiction Treatment, Housing Solutions, Education and Training. Druglink provide accommodation in Hatfield for those that have been street homeless and allows them the opportunity to gain access to the councils housing list by maintaining a tenancy and get all the support they need from keyworkers and other professionals. The funding will enable them to convert a currently unused space in the house into an additional office space, the funds will provide desks/laptops/chairs/paint and flooring.
For more information please visit: www.druglink.co.uk/
Birchwood Trust
Funding: £1,500
Birchwood Trust was established in the early days of the pandemic. The initial intention was to relieve food poverty for the families of the school community through the collection and distribution of food donations. They also provide help and support to families including debt and money management advice, access to sexual health and family planning services, careers and benefit advice. The funding will enable them to purchase a fridge freezer so that they can safely store chilled and frozen food, purchase 25 slow cookers and give out 85 family slow cooker meal packages £5 per meal.
For more information please visit: www.facebook.com/BirchwoodTrustHub/
Kingdom Light Centre
Funding: £1,500
Kingdom Light Centre is a parish under the Redeemed Christian Church of God. As a church, they have a mandate to ‘Restore Hope, Live by Faith and Fulfil Destiny’ within the Hatfield community and its environs.
KLC have been running the Christmas Hampers project since December 2016 and are serving more & more individuals and families in the Hatfield community. This is an on-going project, and the objective of this project is to ensure that no family will go hungry on Christmas day and the festive period. They plan to distribute around 200 hampers at a total cost of £6000 this Christmas. The hampers will include: a frozen turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, vegetables, Christmas pudding, non-alcoholic wine, biscuits and mince pies.
For more information please visit: www.kingdomlight.org.uk/
OPAL Play Team at St Philip Howard School
Funding: £1,500
This school based in Hatfield were seeking funding to provide resources and play equipment to improve the children’s lunchtime play. The school have joined forces with OPAL outdoor play and learning team to enhance the children’s play opportunities by giving them options to explore, take risks, collaborate and get a bit dirty, whilst having fun!
The funds have enabled the school to purchase scooters for wheeled play, markings for a scooter/wheeled play track, mud kitchen, climbing wall stones and a speaker system for outside.
For more information please visit: www.sphoward.herts.sch.uk/ www.outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk/
One YMCA
Funding: £300
Their Hatfield Youth Club runs at The Hive at The Jim McDonald Centre in Hatfield on Wednesday and Friday evenings and provides local young people the chance to connect in a relaxed and friendly environment. One YMCA Youth team support young people at these sessions through their intervention work such as mentoring and well-being sessions. The funding provided will buy arts and crafts materials: clay/modelling tools/suede bracelets and charms/bead box/sharpie pens/paint and canvases for the young people to use.
For more information please visit: www.oneymca.org/what-we-do/support-advice/youth-work/
Forever Young People
Funding: £1,016
As the best provider of youth mentoring programs in Hertfordshire Forever Young People strives to be at the heart of the community and to be flexible and responsive in their approach towards mentoring young people. They aim to inspire people to feel valued, empowered, and confident in their abilities and to motivate individuals educationally, socially and emotionally.
Forever Young People uses thought, emotional intelligence and ethical practices to create an inclusive and meaningful future through their teenage mentoring programs and coaching which engages young people through conversational-based learning. They aim to provide young people, children and community groups with coaching and mentoring that will support them with their low emotional well-being.
Funding will enable them to purchase equipment for their sports sessions and mental health awareness and safeguarding training.
For more information please visit: www.foreveryoungpeople.com
July 2022
The committee gave funding to 4 Hatfield projects this month. Hatfield Comet Youth Football Club received £1,500 for a new set of wheeled goals, Southfield School received £1,974 for their outdoor learning area, Old Hatfield Ladies Running Group received £235 for an online safety course and Hollier Court Sheltered Housing Scheme received £1,560 for exercise classes and Clock Cricket for their residents and the Hatfield community.
May 2022
Great News! The committee have provided funding of £1,500 to a very worthwhile project at Greenacres Residential Home in Hatfield who specialize in dementia care. The money will enable them to purchase an Interactive Activity table. Their plan is to have a tearoom where their residents can come enjoy a cup of tea with family and friends and enjoy the sensory table by using the table to reminisce using google earth, play games and watch live events on the large screen etc. The table is mobile and would also be able to be used in other parts of the home which is fantastic for some of their residents who are less mobile.
March 2022
Click here to read more about ARISE Hatfield’s feature in the Welwyn Hatfield Times.
ARISE Hatfield has registered as a charity, this is a new milestone for ARISE Hatfield which has been operating as a local Hatfield fund since 2013. Supporting 111 different Hatfield projects to date totalling over £90,000 in donations made. We want to continue to support the local community and provide funds to Hatfield projects.
December 2021
ARISE Hatfield fund donates to another 5 deserving local causes
The ARISE Hatfield fund has confirmed financial donations to 5 deserving local causes.
Love Hatfield, Forever Young People, Kingdom Light Church, Cornerstone House and Young Life International were among the successful applicants each receiving full funding of up to £1500.
The funding comes from an alliance of five business partners comprising Landsec (The Galleria), Ocado, Gascoyne Estates, Incentive FM and LA Metalworks. It was set up in 2013 to provide an annual fund of money to support initiatives and socially based activities that improve the lives of groups or individuals in Hatfield. It has so far donated over £90,000 to 111 Hatfield community projects.
The details of the applicants that have received funding are as follows:
LOVE Hatfield
Funding: £850
Love Hatfield is a local non-profit making collective of like-minded people who support the community of Hatfield by offering a helping hand, assistance and advice when needed most.
The 3rd scout group were forced to leave their hut in Birchwood due to asbestos. Their new home at Oxlease Methodist Church in Hatfield needs some TLC to make it safe and enable the scouts to use the outside area. The group has already carried out gardening and making an outdoor space for the scouts but wanted additional money to provide lighting, a paved area and planting and compost so the funding will now enable them to do this.
Forever Young People
Funding £1,410
FYP aims to engage young people in the local community and to build their self-esteem. The group aims to create a safe environment in which youngsters are encouraged and supported to develop their skills and confidence.
The award is being used to pay for camera and sports equipment for their mentoring and sporting projects.
Kingdom Light Church
Funding £1,500
Kingdom of Light Church has been running the Christmas Hampers project since December 2016 and is serving more & more individuals and families in the Hatfield community. This is an on-going project, aimed to ensure that no family will go hungry on Christmas Day.
They work with other voluntary and government agencies which refer families they know are in need. Each hamper costs £30 and they plan to distribute to over 125 families in Hatfield.
DeHavilland Community Project, now known as Cornerstone House
Funding: £435
Cornerstone House is in Salisbury Village in Hatfield and is a large housing estate of private and social housing. There are no churches on the estate, but the De Havilland Community Project has been the Christian presence for over ten years and works with the local families.
The group needed funding for craft supplies to produce a Christmas Window Trail where families decorate windows and the children then go around the estate and find them. They can find a window each day or do all 24 windows on the 24th December. Each child that takes part in the trail receives a craft to do at home plus some chocolates and 3 correct entries are drawn for a Christmas selection pack each.
Young Life International
Funding: £375
Young Life International starts with caring adults who spend time building bridges of friendship with young people – where they are, as they are. They listen to their stories and learn what’s important to them they genuinely care about their joys, triumphs, heartaches and setbacks
They have a new member of staff joining their team in January 2022 who will be taking over primary responsibilities at their Friday Club as well as other duties. A grant was confirmed to fund a laptop to enable them to edit videos and promote the project.
SEPTEMBER 2021
This September we handed out £7,358 of funding to 7 very worthwhile Hatfield projects. Since ARISE Hatfield began back in 2013 we have supported 106 Hatfield projects totalling £87,230.
The projects that received funding this quarter are as follows:
Hatfield Swimming Club
Funding: £1,000
Location: Hatfield Swim Centre & University of Herts Sports Village
Hatfield Swimming Club was founded in 1966 and has grown from a small local club to its current status as the premier swimming club in both Hertfordshire and the East of England. It is also recognised as one of the leading clubs in the UK. Being a not-for-profit organisation with a hardship fund for some of their members, they find it hard to access new technology, due to limited finance.
FUNDS: An iPad Pro 12.9” & a GoPro 9 camera to enable them to carry out stroke analysis both underwater and above. The same equipment would also be used for race analysis and livestreaming of their competitions.
Herts School Outreach
Funding £1,000
Location: Based in London but will be for Hatfield Community Free School, Briars Lane, Hatfield, AL10 8ES
Since the start of the Pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the mental health and emotional needs of children and young people.
Mental Health Needs of Children and Young People according to JSNA: Tier 2 services (including school counselling) only currently reach about 10% of estimated need in that tier. Their goal is to promote good mental health for the children and young people they support and bridge this gap.
FUNDS: Sessions to equip children and young people with skills to build on their success; the content of the sessions is targeted for the child or young person’s needs and the hurdles they may be experiencing in terms of their emotional wellbeing and mental health needs together with their behavioural and conduct needs. ARISE funding will be used to support Hatfield Community Free School. Support Sessions and will run across 6 weeks (one academic half term) for two hours per week.
Howe Dell Extended Services
Funding £1,000
Location: Howe Dell Primary School, The Runway, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AH
They aim to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for children whose parents/carers need to work. They offer a wide range of arts & crafts, outdoor activities such as baking, messy play, board games, competitions, team challenges and quiet activities. They also run a Breakfast and After School Club so the equipment is used all year round. They also provide support for some of their families during the holidays and after school that may be struggling for various reasons such as illness or death in the family.
FUNDS: Wheeled tables with attached seating that can be easily moved and stored and wheeled storage trolleys so that the children can have easy access to toys and activities. These will allow them to be portable if rooms or facilities change.
WHCVS
Funding: £1,500
Location: Gracemead House, Woods Avenue, Hatfield
The Welwyn Hatfield Community and Voluntary Services is an infrastructure organisation that provides support to front line charities in Welwyn & Hatfield. They provide low-cost training, information & advice, funding briefs, equipment hire, DBS checks, office service, support in writing funding applications, recruiting volunteers, networking. In addition, they also provide transport to people having difficulty in using public transport for health-related appointments. Let’s Chat, a telephone befriending service, Blooming Marvellous, supporting elderly people with mobility issues with light gardening, Love Welwyn Hatfield is a community clean-up campaign to help improve areas in Welwyn Hatfield that requires some TLC.
FUNDS: To set up a Hardship Fund for Hatfield Residents (they already have one set up for Welwyn families). The Fund will be managed by Welwyn Hatfield CVS. Throughout the Pandemic they have come across several residents in Hatfield who are really struggling. The latest case is a Hatfield family who need some volunteers to help them make their garden safer and more secure. 2 of their 4 children are disabled. To do the work a skip was required and the family are on low income. The fund will be used to help various families in Hatfield as the need arises.
Resolve: Sparks Café
Funding: £1,500
Location: Queensway House, Hatfield Town Centre
Resolve is a Drug & Alcohol Treatment Agency which specialises in homelessness. They also have their Community Café, SPARKS, a “Pay what you feel” Community Café & Hub for the whole community at Queensway House, Hatfield Town Centre. The Café provides:
- Space bringing people together to relieve a range of social issues affecting people within the whole community including social isolation, a place for vulnerable people to be safe, for homeless people to “be” and for people with other issues to be off the streets during the day.
- Freshly prepared and cooked food for people. Payment for food is based on trust and ability to pay. Those who can pay a “suggested minimum donation”, or more if they are able and wish to, and for those who have little, or no money food will be cheaper, even free if needed.
- Volunteering experience in a range of roles.
- Training in food hygiene, food prep, managing work, etc. associated with the café.
- General volunteering opportunities at the café and hub.
Resolve’s Night Shelter has now grown into Resolve’s full Homeless and Rough Sleeper project, ReStart. ReStart provides crisis accommodation in single bedrooms and support for people in crisis and in need of accommodation in the borough. This project is aimed at bringing people off the streets and onward into independent or support living as appropriate.
FUNDS: Signage to raise the profile of the Café so that more people locally can see the café, know it is there and so then go to the Cafe through higher profile signage outside the café, this will include 2 feather flags, a new sign for the front of the Café and decal vinyl images for the front windows. They will also be able to service their barista coffee machine.
Hatfield United Football Club
Funding: £750
Location: Birchwood Playing Fields, Hatfield
The aim of Hatfield United FC is to develop young people and young adults by giving them the opportunity of playing local football to a good standard and giving them the chance to progress to playing football at a higher level. This is a project of immeasurable value to the young people and young adults themselves as it allows them to develop as footballers but also gives them a sense of pride, belonging and identity. There is a lack of facilities for this age group when youngsters have left school and a lack of opportunity for young men to play football at this level. Hatfield United are providing them with this opportunity.
The people within the community that will benefit from the activity are local residents, young adults, young people, ethnic minority groups, lone parents, families, unemployed, low income, disadvantaged and young people not in education, employment or training.
FUNDS: The playing ground is owned by Hatfield Town Council to whom they pay a pitch fee of £47 per game. They will play 20 home games this season including Cup fixtures resulting in pitch fees for the season totalling £940 so the funds will help fund this.
H’arts in Mind
Funding: Applied for £1,000, funding confirmed as £608.
Weekly and monthly art sessions and discussion groups and a monthly market stall at Hatfield Market, White Lion Square where members can sell their work or work on the stall for a couple of hours. The group provides art sessions for well-being, development of skills and social interaction/friendship development. Encouragement of healthy activity creating a sense of pride, empowerment, achievement particularly in those suffering from mental health problems, those with physical barriers, social deprivation and who have suffered severely through Covid.
FUNDS: Art materials including:
Acrylic Paints
Acrylic paper pads
Canvas
Printing costs
AUGUST 2021
Amount of funding increased
Breaking news…..You can now apply for funding for any Hatfield project up to £1,500 per application.
JUNE 2021
This month saw the ARISE Hatfield provide funding to two great projects, 3rd Hatfield Brownies/1st Hatfield Rainbows and Friends of Countess Anne School.
3rd Hatfield Brownies/1st Hatfield Rainbows
Funding: £450 for stationery equipment
This group offers the ability for all children no matter the background to come and enjoy activities from a wide choice and be able to enjoy themselves. They aim to build confidence and reward the girls for the achievements they do. They learn by doing, they get their hands dirty, do sports, arts and crafts and play games. The money they have received will enable them to purchase stationery equipment for various activities over the year to allow the girls to each have their own individual equipment to ensure safety.
Visit https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/ for more information.
Friends of Countess Anne School
Funding: £1,000 for an industrial oven for their community kitchen at Eden House
Eden House is part of Countess Anne School and is a shared space where local people can come and enjoy being a community together. It is to be a space where people can eat, learn and play together; building relationships through shared events. Eden house will be used for a variety of purposes, such as breakfast and after school clubs for working families, a therapeutic service for other schools and adults, seniors tea parties, adult learning programmes (with HAFLS) and for those wanting recognised qualifications and specific parenting support programmes for those families dealing with a whole range of challenges. The money they receive for the purchase of the oven will enable them to purchase an industrial oven for Eden House which will enable them to provide a communal kitchen to allow for community groups to self-host larger events and for the school to host summer holiday events.
Visit https://www.countessanneprimary.org.uk/Eden-House-27022020103753/ for more information.
MAY 2021
Click here to see the latest ARISE Hatfield news story: https://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/arise-hatfield-donates-to-local-projects-7934928
MARCH 2021
This month the ARISE Hatfield committee met to discuss applications and have awarded funds to the following 7 very worthwhile Hatfield projects:
HATFIELD MEN’S SHED
Funding: £991.60 for bike accessories and tools
Hatfield Men’s Shed are working with Breaks Manor Youth and Community Centre and Potential for All on a new Cycling Project Called Hatfield Bike Project which will repair and then maintain a ‘fleet’ of bicycles and organise ‘ride outs’ to ‘Keep Hatfield Healthy’. They currently have 32 bikes in various states of disrepair donated by local Police Stations and have a cycle engineer who will train young people to a qualification, supplied through Potential for All, for those disengaged with education. The funds will enable them to purchase much needed bike accessories and tools to fix the bikes. For more information please visit: https://www.potentialforall.org/
3RD HATFIELD RAINBOWS
Funding: £315 for IT equipment
3rd Hatfield Rainbows is a girl’s group who learn by doing, they get their hands dirty, do sports, arts and crafts and play games. Being a Rainbow is all about having the space to try new things, enabling girls to take part in a range of different activities with girls their own age, Rainbows help the girls to develop self-confidence and make lots of new friends.
During the pandemic Girl Guiding have provided free Zoom accounts to the group, but the leader does not have access to a computer to enable her to run the group and see the girls on the screen, so is currently using her mobile phone. They were seeking funding for IT equipment so that they could run the Zoom meetings professionally and for all the girls to be able to receive packs of printed material. Due to Covid and the restrictions placed on them they are unlikely to be able to return to their unit until September. The equipment will then be used to log all activities and details electronically rather than by paper and for security purposes would be far better for the unit.
For more information please visit: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/rainbows-5-7/
HERTS VISION LOSS
Funding: £1,000 towards costs of counselling for Hatfield residents in their homes
This charity was formed in 1915 to assist soldiers returning from the front who were blinded by gas. They remain an independent local registered charity providing services and information to blind and partially sighted people throughout Hertfordshire, as well as to their families, carers and any organisations with an interest or involvement in people with a visual impairment. They provide:
- Home visits and befriending
- Hospital eye clinic information and support
- A resource centre and Sight Information Points.
- Our Ears for Eyes counselling service for people experiencing vision loss
- ‘Sight Line’ telephone information service which answers questions and offers advice
- An advocacy service for people with vision loss to help them get their voice heard
- School visits and groups to raise awareness of sight loss and talk about our work
Funding will be used to offer counselling to any adult or child living in Hatfield who may be blind or have a visual impairment.
They may experience a wide range of emotions including shock, denial, anger, and a sense of loss. The emotional impact on their mental health well-being can be overwhelming for some. They are often socially isolated and struggling to come to terms with sight loss and manage their social isolation and loneliness. At these times it helps to talk to a counsellor who understands the challenges of living with sight loss and can help with support through gaining independence.
The counselling will help people come to terms with sight loss and talk to someone who will listen. Someone who does not judge or tell them what to do but will give space to explore and make sense of their thoughts and feelings. It will also help to increase independence and reduce social isolation and give people coping strategies to reduce stress and anxiety.
For more information please visit: https://hertsvisionloss.org.uk/our-history/
Hatfield House Chamber Music Festival Education and Outreach Programme
Funding: £1,000 towards costs of running their music event
This charity is responsible for the delivery of an education and outreach programme aiming to musically engage, inspire and enable children and young people in the Hatfield area and across Hertfordshire through educational concerts, workshops and other opportunities.
They hold a 4-day annual chamber music festival, held in various venues within Hatfield House and Park. They present classical chamber music concerts with musicians of the highest international standard.
Building on the success of offering their concerts to a wider on-line audience in 2020, https://hatfieldhousemusicfestival.org.uk/education/2020-2/ they hope to include both “live” and “on-line” opportunities for their education and outreach work in 2021. This will include two Schools Concerts which will be live-streamed, a Family Concert, the Young Musicians’ Platform, masterclasses, workshops and “curtain-raiser” and “side-by-side” performance opportunities.
The Schools Concerts will again feature students from the Purcell School and the main work will be a chamber version of Holst’s “Planet Suite” arr. by George Morton, presented and illustrated by the artist James Mayhew.
This combination of music, science and art, performed by local young talented musicians for primary school children in Hertfordshire will be a feast for all the senses and a marvellous opportunity for them to hear quality live chamber music in an atmospheric and historical setting. There will be 360 free tickets available for local primary-age children and the concert will also be live-streamed and available to watch for all 370 primary schools in Hertfordshire through our YouTube channel.
To accompany the concert there will be a package of support materials, including a programme with notes about the music and other cross-curricular projects for teachers to use if they wish.
As their professional artists will be “in residence” at Hatfield House this year, they are also hoping to include some short concerts involving a few of the performers in local care and residential homes for the elderly. Listening to music is proven to have a significant beneficial effect on the mental health of elderly people, especially those suffering with dementia and Alzheimer’s. It reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increases levels of dopamine, the chemical responsible for feeling good. Enjoying live music with others also stimulates oxytocin, which helps us to bond and develop relationships with those we are sharing it with – all of which contributes to the overall well-being of our elderly population.
For more information please visit: https://hatfieldhousemusicfestival.org.uk/education/
THE DEHAVILLAND COMMUNITY PROJECT
Funding: £100 to purchase Easter Eggs and produce advertising material for their community event
Linda Kinchenton, Methodist Deacon and leader of The De Havilland Community Project, organises community activities which include Fresh Expression of Church, Cuppa and a Natta, a pop-up café, craft packs for adults and children, doorstep check ins, parties and fun days for the children in the community.
The group are planning to do an Easter window trail, where families will put up pictures of Easter Eggs they have coloured into their windows, then the children will need to find each egg and re-arrange the letters to make a phrase. Each child entering will receive a chocolate Easter Egg. The funds will enable them to purchase Easter eggs and advertise the event.
For more information please search for The de Havilland community project on Facebook
YOUNG LIFE WELWYN HATFIELD
Funding: £180 for Mental Health First Aid training
Young Life believe in young people and share the hope-filled message of Jesus with them. They run weekly youth clubs and discussion groups for young people aged 11-18. Adult mentors volunteer in schools to support, coach, and encourage young people. Monthly trips with their club kids for outside fun or sports (trampolining, trips to London, swim parties, pamper nights etc.). Summer holiday camps to Cairn Brae Scotland and in the local community of Hatfield. Also provide regular football training.
The group applied for funding to enable them to send a member of staff on a Mental Health First Aid training course and gain a qualification which will benefit and equip them to be more confident to support young people. It will also be a great qualification that they hope will help reopen doors in the local schools’ once outsiders are allowed back on school properties.
This group will be based at Eden House, Countess Anne Primary School, Hatfield.
For more information please visit: https://welwynhatfield.ylinternational.org/
HATFIELD DETACHMENT, ARMY CADET FORCE
Funding: £700 for IT equipment
The Army Cadet Force was formed in 1859, the Hatfield Detachment has existed since the 1970’s. They develop young people physically and mentally, improving self-confidence, teamwork, friendship and leadership skills. They welcome cadets from all backgrounds and of all ability levels making them a highly accessible organisation.
They plan to purchase IT equipment to assist their cadets that are currently unable to be involved in their online lessons and classes during COVID-19. They run a twice weekly class for their cadets utilising Zoom and Google classroom.
For more information please visit: https://armycadets.com/county/bedfordshire-and-hertfordshire-acf/
NOVEMBER 2020
ARISE Hatfield hits the headlines, click here to read the full article.
On Wednesday 11th November 2020, ARISE Hatfield awarded 3 local organisations with funds ranging from £300 to £1,000 for their projects. The fund can be awarded, up to a maximum of £1,000, to any group, organisation or individual based in or living in the Hatfield area.
ARISE Hatfield has made £73,952 of donations, supporting 90 projects since it began in 2013.
Projects that benefitted from the latest round of funding were:
HATFIELD MEN’S SHED
£761 to enable them to purchase much needed equipment so that they can continue to work outside.
This group aims to combat the negative impact of loneliness and isolation on a person’s health and wellbeing. Men typically find it more difficult to build social connections than women, and unlike women of a similar age, less older men have networks of friends and rarely share personal concerns about health and personal worries. It is not the case for all men, but for some, when retirement comes, it can feel like personal identity and purpose is lost. Men’s Sheds can change all of that. Sheds are about meeting like-minded people and having someone to share your worries with. They are about having fun, sharing skills and knowledge with like-minded people and gaining a renewed sense of purpose and belonging. As a by-product of all of that they reduce isolation and feelings of loneliness, they allow men to deal with mental health challenges more easily and remain independent, they rebuild communities and in many cases, they save men’s lives. (visit https://menssheds.org.uk/ for more information).
3RD HATFIELD RAINBOWS
£300 to purchase stationery items to enable the children to carry on with their arts and crafts etc whilst social distancing.
Rainbows – a fun and exciting programme for girls aged five to seven, it’s all about learning by doing. Rainbows is all about developing self-confidence, building friendships, learning new things and having fun. Girls get their hands dirty with arts and crafts, get in touch with nature and play games – it’s all about learning by doing. (visit https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/rainbows-5-7/ for more information)
HATFIELD FOODBANK
£1,000 to purchase much needed shelving and storage boxes to enable them to store food correctly throughout the year.
Nobody in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why Hatfield Foodbank provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis. They are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK. (visit https://hatfield.foodbank.org.uk/ for more information)
FEBRUARY 2020
As an alliance of four local business partners, ARISE Hatfield’s mission it is to breathe life into local community projects and initiatives and inspire Hatfield to thrive.
With the extensive redevelopment of the town centre focussing on improving Hatfield’s infrastructure, the work of ARISE Hatfield concentrates on making positive contributions to the town’s people.
The four business partners providing an annual fund of money to support initiatives and socially based activities that improve the lives of groups or individuals in Hatfield are Landsec (The Galleria), Ocado, Gascoyne Estates and Incentive FM.
A further committee, consisting of representatives from local businesses meet quarterly to select projects eligible for funding.
The latest projects to benefit from funding from ARISE include Countess Anne School’s community room; this room is to be community based and is to provide multiple uses for both community and school. One of the uses will be to provide a setting where the school’s pupils can host events for the local elderly community. The school have established a positive working relationship with Acacia Mews Care Home, who are keen to pursue these cross-generational initiatives having seen benefits to their residents from the school’s termly visits to see them.
The school was granted funding of £976.32 for the purchase of 48 banqueting chairs to provide comfortable seating for events including a ‘boards and cards afternoon’ as well as ‘Afternoon tea and flicks’ events.
St. John’s Youth and Community Centre will also benefit from funding of £500 for the provision of replacement pads for the defibrillator they purchased with funding from ARISE in 2017. The defibrillator has been used three times since its installation in the Hilltop community – significantly increasing a patient’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest, while awaiting the emergency services.
The fund can be awarded, up to a maximum of £1,000, to any group, organisation or individual based in or living in the Hatfield area. Anyone who is involved with or knows of a project no matter how big or small that would benefit from a cash boost can apply online via the APPLY tab on this website.
COUNTESS ANNE SCHOOL
The school received £976.32 of funding for banqueting chairs. The school is continuing with its development of their annex building and is now looking to redevelop the large first floor room. The room is to be community based and is to provide multiple uses for both community and school.
One of the uses is to provide a setting where the upper junior children can provide an events afternoon for the local old age residents. This events afternoon would include hosting a boards and cards afternoon and an ‘Afternoon Tea and Flicks’ event (the room is being equipped to provide cinematic events).
The school believes that such events would be invaluable for both their young people and for the elderly. They have equipped the annex with a ramp and a lift to the first floor to ensure access and already have a working relationship with Acacia Mews Care Home – whom their pupils visit on a termly basis.
ST JOHN’S YOUTH AND COMMUNITY CENTRE
Back in 2017 ARISE Hatfield provided £500 towards purchasing a defibrillator for the Hilltop community in Hatfield. Since the defibrillator was installed it has been used three times and the community were seeking funds to enable them to purchase x3 sets of replacement pads for the defibrillator, ARISE Hatfield wanted to support their project and so provided another £500 to enable them to purchase more pads.
Once again ARISE Hatfield has appeared in The Galleria Community Matters magazine reminding groups in the Hatfield area that if their group/project needs financial help of up to £1,000 then they should apply for funding here >>
NOVEMBER 2019
On the 12th November 2019 the ARISE Hatfield committee met to review the applications received for funding. On this occasion they awarded funding to 5 different projects, Herts Vision Loss, Young Enterprise, Young Life International, The DeHavilland Community Project and Lemsford Football Club. See below for full detail of their projects.
HERTS VISION LOSS
This group received £1,000 of funding to support the setup of the `Sight Life Support Group’ which they estimate will support over 20 people per month. A dedicated Vision Loss Advisor will be present at the groups and affected people will be able to go through any issues that are affecting them, socialise with others and learn new things for example about specific technology that is available. They will run cooking sessions as well as employment sessions. There will be a trained counsellor present who will see people as required. The funds will help to provide a Vision Loss Advisor/Facilitator for 20 hours to set up and establish the group, travel and transport, room hire and activities/trips. Check out their website: https://hertsvisionloss.org.uk/
YOUNG ENTERPRISE
Received £1,000 towards the Young Enterprise Launchpad Programme at Onlslow St Audrey’s School. The children from Onslow will take part in a business challenge, the teams will work together on developing a business idea. This programme will help students recognise key life and business skills such as communication, financial capability, teamwork, resilience. With the support of business volunteers, students benefit from real life stories of career paths and opportunities within businesses. The funds that ARISE are providing will enable 33 students to participate in this programme. Check out their website: https://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/
YOUNG LIFE INTERNATIONAL
Received £900 towards their sports engagement project. They currently run weekly youth clubs for young Hatfield people aged 11-18, they hold weekly discussion groups for the young people to discuss faith and life skills. Adult mentors volunteer in the local schools to support, coach, and encourage young people. They also provide monthly trips with the club kids, outside fun or sports (trampolining, trips to London, swim parties, pamper nights etc.) They applied for funding so that they could rent an AstroTurf pitch for football and basketball courts for monthly training sessions for the Hatfield Youth. Check out their website: https://ylinternational.org/england
THE DEHAVILLAND COMMUNITY PROJECT
Received £465 towards their community Christmas kids party. Community Cohesion in Salisbury village, Hatfield is poor with poor shared useable facilities. These parties, including their summer fun days, aim to bring families together to have fun. Salisbury village has a fair amount of social housing and families struggle to find things on a limited income to entertain their children. This group offer a virtually free afternoon for these families. They are holding a Christmas fun afternoon on the 14th December 2019 for the families in Salisbury Village in Hatfield. The plan is to have a couple of hours of crafts and entertainment from a children’s entertainer and/or a balloon modeller, then a visit from father Christmas and concluding with a nativity service.
LEMSFORD FOOTBALL CLUB
Received £150 for training equipment. Lemsford F.C. has been part of village life for over 100 years and is still thriving today. The funds received for new equipment will really help the team.
AUGUST 2019
On the 5th August 2019 the ARISE Hatfield committee met to review the applications received for funding. On this occasion they awarded funding to 3 different projects, Herts Young Homeless, Kingdom Light Church & Jimmy Mac’s. See below for full detail of their projects.
HERTS YOUNG HOMELESS
Received £1,000 for their photography project – a professional photographer will work with the young Live Life members to train them in photography skills and take photos of what homelessness means to them. They will then use the resulting images along with poetry and stories written by the group to raise awareness of issues facing homeless young people.
KINGDOM LIGHT CHURCH
Received £1,000 to enable the group to purchase an electric guitar and amplifier (they already own a keyboard and drum kit) and hire a music tutor to teach guitar to the young people who live in Hatfield targeting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their families who are not able to afford to take their children to music classes.
JIMMY MACS
Received £1,000 to purchase some new garden furniture for their Secret Garden at the Jimmy Mac’s Centre located in Hatfield. This charities purpose is to avid people becoming lonely or isolated due to retirement or disability and provides activities such as chair based exercises, line dancing, bingo, board games, indoor bowls, dance evenings etc for their members.
We’re delighted to have been featured in The Galleria Community Matters magazine!