The Lincolnshire County Council community fund was launched on Thursday 9 April, to support community groups which are helping residents throughout the current crisis.
It's already making a massive difference to the lives of residents across Lincolnshire, with 131 grants having been awarded totalling £76,347 to community groups, parish councils and charities across the county.
County councillors can award grants of up to £3,000 each to groups doing important work in their community.
Cllr Colin Davie for Ingoldmells Rural has chosen three groups to support so far:
He says, "These are unprecedented times, but I'm so impressed by how communities are coming together and supporting each other throughout this crisis.
"The groups I've chosen to support are all doing vital work, helping the isolated and vulnerable, through delivering essential shopping, prescriptions, and of course maintaining contact.
"Just a chat over the phone can be so beneficial for people's wellbeing if they're having to self isolate for several weeks."
The groups are:
£500 to Welton-Le-Marsh Parish Council Emergency Resilience. The voluntary group is supporting over 200 citizens, a quarter of whom are over 70 years old. They are keeping in touch with isolated and vulnerable residents, and delivering essential shopping and prescriptions, as well as having “over the garden fence” chats. They've also provided each household with essential packs of PPE including face masks and anti bacterial gel.
£500 to Hogsthorpe Volunteers Group. This group of residents mobilised quickly to support others in the area during the pandemic. They set up a Facebook page and a central telephone number, and leafleted the village to inform people of their voluntary service. The support given includes; a phone buddy system; carrying out shopping trips; delivering and collecting prescriptions and dog walking. They also sell fresh produce from the village hall for an hour every day, with a delivery service for those self isolating. The profit from this has been used to set up a food bank for those who need it.
£500 to Ingoldmells Food Bank which so far has delivered more than 1,000 food parcels and essential supplies, as well as prescriptions to people who are in isolation and unable to get to the foodbank.
Cllr Carl Macey for Skegness North has donated £1,500 of his grant to Skegness Community Church of the Nazarene. The church is continuing to operate its community outreach for people in difficult circumstances, although they've had to close their café, charity shop and advice centre during Covid 19. The funds will help volunteers to keep up their outreach support and for the church to meet the rent and utilities during the shutdown period.
Cllr Macey added, "I'm delighted to have supported the Skegness Community Church of the Nazarene. Their work through the community outreach scheme is helping those in need, which is now even more welcome in these extraordinary times, and many more residents are in need of their support."
Any groups in need of financial support during the Covid 19 crisis, should see www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/communityfund.