We’re delighted to announce that Leeds Community Foundation has awarded money from Time to Shine Small Funds to five exciting new projects which cover a diverse range of needs, approaches and communities. The following projects were successful in Round Nine, which had an open theme:

• Burmantofts Senior Action will trial a range of new activities as taster sessions in different venues, to present new opportunities for older people to get involved, to address social isolation and loneliness in local men, younger older people, and those with disabilities.
• Otley Action for Older People’s Connecting at the Weekend project will help build a weekend community network scheme for groups of older people who live alone, and who would otherwise be at risk of not seeing or speaking to a soul all weekend, specifically including older people with dementia.
• BID Services will run lip-reading classes for people with hearing impairments, and also establish a peer support group through which learners can practice their lip-reading skills in a relaxed, social setting, reducing isolation and giving them skills to live in a hearing world.
• Oblong will set up Pass it On, to combat isolation and improve the self-esteem of older people through skills sharing workshops, which participants will then have the opportunity to deliver again in the wider community.
• LS14 Trust will establish The Postcard Community (an expansion of their Postcard Café originally funded in Round three of Small Funds) to help older people develop their understanding of the digital world. They will set up a travelling roadshow, working with a wider range of groups and associations.

As with all Time to Shine projects we look forward to learning what works, and perhaps what doesn’t, and sharing that learning. See the Upcoming Grants Programmes on Leeds Community Foundation website for information about the next small funds round, due to open in January, for projects which will run for 12 months.