HARIBO has announced the recipients of this year’s Happiness Together Fund, which aims to alleviate ‘the cycle of social isolation’ in the Wakefield District, the company’s UK home.
Building on the success of last year's programme, the fund will continue to work with Community Foundation Wakefield District and Prosper Wakefield Ltd, to create opportunities for memorable, shared experiences and moments of fun and happiness between generations. In turn, this aims to reduce loneliness and improve welfare and wellbeing in the local community.
This year's process saw more applications than ever, resulting in a comprehensive selection process with representatives from: HARIBO, Community Foundation Wakefield District, Prosper Wakefield and Wakefield and District Housing. Successful applicants included: The Leeds United Foundation, Senior Citizens Support Group, The Creative Art House, Canal and River Trust and Featherstone Rovers Foundation. Each organisation has received funding in order to deliver a calendar of exciting plans over the coming months to tackle loneliness across the district.
Initiatives include: tech support workshops, intergenerational fishing classes, day trips for the elderly and disabled, and the Featherstone Rovers RLFC continuing to deliver their lunch club to isolated elderly residents, with food cooked by young carers and those with learning difficulties.
Jon Hughes, Managing Director of HARIBO UK and Ireland, said: "We are delighted to reveal the well-deserved recipients of the HARIBO Happiness Together Fund. Social isolation is an issue impacting more of us than ever. We have 600 colleagues in West Yorkshire and the fund gives us a chance to make a positive impact close to home: addressing loneliness, building friendships, and supporting our communities in a fun and exciting way."
Tabea Powell, Corporate Communications Manager at HARIBO UK said: "After visiting last years' successful initiatives myself, I saw first-hand how people of all ages and backgrounds from our local community can benefit from these projects and learn from one another. We are looking forward to seeing this year's programmes come to life, and how they create moments of happiness across the district in the coming months."
You can read information on the plans from each charity below:
Open Country/Thornes Nursery: Focused on enabling people with disabilities to enjoy the countryside, they will create 'Countryside Through the Ages' day trips, which will see elderly members select and guide youngsters to iconic locations across Yorkshire.
Castleford Tigers Trust: This sports charity will facilitate young people in supporting over 55s to safely and effectively use technology, leading to happier, safer, community-connected lives in Castleford, Airedale and Fryston.
Aphasia Support: The charity will continue running its successful aphasia café, which will meet twice a month to improve the well-being of people with aphasia and their carers.
Leeds United Foundation: The charity will expand its successful Fit Generations programme outside the Leeds Area to Wakefield, Castleford, Featherstone, Knottingley, Normanton and Pontefract.
Senior Citizens Support Group: The group looks to bring young people across the district together with the (SCSG) Seniors Support Group, for fun activities such as dance, music, and technology, to build friendships and confidence.
Empath Action CiC: The social mobility charity will create the Timekeepers History Research Scheme, giving people a series of fun, interactive workshops and activities across the district, focusing on intergenerational community-building around a shared passion, gaining skills in research, using newspaper archives and library systems.
Featherstone Rovers Foundation: The official charity of Featherstone Rovers RLFC will continue delivering their lunch club to isolated elderly residents, with food cooked by young carers and those with learning difficulties.
Canal and River Trust: The charity will expand its 'Let's Fish!' programme, which sees older anglers introduce young people to angling, to the Eastmoor, Belle Vue and Thornes areas, enabling access to activities on the Calder and Hebble Navigation.
The Creative Art House: The charity hopes to initiate a new, exciting commission for an artist or collective to deliver 4 creative workshops with intergenerational groups made up of asylum seekers, refugees and local families from the Wakefield district.
The Community Foundation Wakefield District's Director, Murray Edwards, added, 'We are delighted to be working with Haribo again this year, and working for the first time in collaboration with Prosper Wakefield Ltd. The wide variety of projects being funded demonstrates just how much communities can benefit through the work of the organisations involved, and we look forward to continuing to develop this over the years ahead.'
The HARIBO Happiness Fund supports programmes that deliver intergenerational events and activities which will engage older and younger people and target those in the 18-24 age-group and those who are 55 plus.
