Across The Peel Group, we pride ourselves in positively impacting people’s lives, enhancing the physical and mental welfare of the next generation, inspiring creativity as well as building a sustainable future for us all. In March 2022, we officially set up The Peel Group Foundation (Isle of Man registered charity No. 1331) to support and give back to the communities in which The Peel Group operates by working across charitable programmes in healthcare and medical research, culture, environment as well as social and sustainable activity for the public benefit.
Already supporting a range of projects
Our giving through The Peel Group Foundation covers a diverse range of causes from small community groups to regional and national charities, predominantly operating in the north west of England. In the short amount of time since the Foundation has been established, we have already had the privilege to support a range of projects, from small community groups to regional and national charities, through the gifting of funds, grants, media platforms, skills, resource and connections. Our contributions provide tangible benefits to positively impact our communities today and for generations to come. We are also continuing to work with our existing charity partners including RHS Garden Bridgewater, Embassy Village, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Bolton Lads and Girls Club, Once Upon a Smile and other key charity partners listed here.
2022 grants offered
We are very proud to announce that after a researching and application process, that in 2022 grants were offered in Bury and the Isle of Man to charities within the welfare sector.
Age UK Bury
In Bury, a grant was awarded to Age UK Bury which supports older people in Bury, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Tottington and Whitefield. The charity provides social, recreational and educational activities, information and advice, a befriending service, a handyperson service and campaigns on older people’s issues.
The grant from The Peel Group Foundation will be used to support the most isolated and vulnerable elderly people who live in the Radcliffe area of Bury. The ‘Friends of Dumers Lane’ Community Centre successfully established a sustainable community hub following the transfer of a property from Bury Council, however the Covid pandemic brought the activities to a halt and the trustees of the charity closed the centre. Age UK Bury has taken over the work of the centre, which is a large, end-terrace house with meeting rooms, suitable for small groups of 10-15 people for social and educational activities, advice and support. The Foundation grant will provide resource for new chairs, notices, a new fence, a defibrillator, information and advice sessions, cyber surgeries to help people use smartphones and tablets, as well as piloting social and recreational activities to bring people together including their knit and natter sessions and coffee mornings and afternoons.
Isle Listen
On the Isle of Man, we have been delighted to support Isle Listen, a charitable mental health initiative that provides mental health support and training across the Isle of Man community. The charity works in schools, providing early intervention and prevention support to empower young people with the emotional resilience to effectively cope with the current challenges young people face.
The grant from The Peel Group Foundation will support Isle Listen’s early Intervention Listening service for the Island’s Secondary Schools by funding an additional Wellbeing Practitioner to enhance delivery of the Listening Service for the next academic year which would allow a further 30-40 students have access to this important service during the course of the year.
An additional £3,000 was donated to Isle of Play, which is a charity that promotes, provides and advocates for opportunities for all children on the Island to fulfil their ‘Right to Play’.
Team fundraising
The Peel Group Foundation has also contributed to some of the fundraising carried out by Peel L&P, including our team efforts to take on the Therme Manchester Marathon in which £460 was donated to Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the Great Manchester Run to raise £1,732 for Once Upon a Smile, and Tough Mudder which raised £3,000 for Bolton Lads and Girls Club. The Foundation also match funded Peel L&P's Team recent recent Christmas Charity Day to raise £4,000 for charities. In addition to match funding the teams’ efforts the Peel Group Foundation has contributed to other smaller fundraising initiatives and will continue to support the fundraising events our teams get involved in. The Three Peaks Challenge was successfully completed by the Enervate team to which £100 was contributed to their fundraising for National Energy Action and £500 was donated to Oscar’s Race for Life. The Peel Group Foundation will continue to support the fundraising events our teams get involved in.
We are proud of the meaningful impact The Foundation is having in our communities and this is what some of our partners have had to say:
Andrew Hazeldine, Chief Office for Age UK Bury said: “We are really grateful to have received this generous grant from The Peel Group Foundation to support our work in Radcliffe. The funding will support our development of the Dumers Lane Community Centre, enabling local groups of people to come together and support one another.
“Our charity’s key aim is to bring older people together and reduce their isolation and loneliness. Everyone needs someone and we see the Centre as a vital meeting point for people in Radcliffe and Redvales. Our Friends Together group already use the centre and new groups are being planned and developed. We are working with other local voluntary organisations to reach out to those who are most isolated in our society.
“The support of The Peel Group Foundation has enabled us to refurbish and develop the centre properly and will greatly enhance the lives of local people in our community.”
Andrea Chambers Isle Listen Chief Executive said: from Isle Listen said We are thrilled to have received this generous grant from The Peel Group Foundation which will directly increase the number of young people in secondary schools we can support.
“We saw a 30% increase in the number of young people accessing the service during the 2021/22 academic year, and around 10% were also accessing CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) or were on their waiting list. Like The Peel Group Foundation, we strive to positively impact the lives of young people and empower them to have greater capacity for learning, improving life transitions. In 2021/22, we supported 328 young people via our listening service, and this much-needed grant will enable us to see a further 30-40 young people in schools during the next academic year.”
Kate Holland, who is a member of The Peel Group Foundation Council, added:
“We feel proud and privileged to be able to support such worthwhile projects and services through The Peel Group Foundation. The organisations we have chosen to partner with provide vital roles in looking after our local communities.The dedicated and meaningful work carried out by these charities align with the aims and values of The Foundation to enhance the welfare of individuals and communities in a meaningful way.”
The Peel Group Foundation Trustees are planning grants for two further geographic regions in which The Peel Group operates, further information will be available on this in the new year.
