Holy Trinity Community Centre awarded £308,000 until 2026
Holy Trinity Community Centre have been awarded £308,000 over 3 years from the Big Lotteries Reaching Communities Fund. Holy Trinity Community Centre will contribute £119,000, giving a total investment of £427,000 for the People Place and Presence project that aims to empower local people, with a particular focus on women considered most difficult to reach.
Holy Trinity CCC is located in one of the most challenging areas of Tameside. The statistics on deprivation speak for themselves and describe a community living with significant deprivation and a range of long-term needs.
For over 40 years the people of Holy Trinity have been working in partnership with others to alleviate needs and address some of the issues facing the local community. This has been done through the creation of the Community Centre which is now a very established and successful community resource whose work is well documented and recognised and praised by the local council, the local police, and a range of local and national funding bodies.
The People Place and Presence project will:
- Improve health and well-being,
- Increase learning opportunities,
- Increase levels of confidence in women to pre-COVID levels,
- Improve services thanks to local people having more influence over service design and delivery,
- Improve connectivity with and between the local community and services,
- Support local volunteer groups with affordable rent, space, and support
- Promote a strong active and cohesive community
- Improve access for young people to Youth Services
- Mitigate the impact of poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.
The funding will ensure the Information Advice and Guidance service that runs from the centre will continue with service benefiting around 400 people per year.
In addition, we aim to support 150 women per year to engage with other project activities to build confidence, skills, learning, and self-esteem that will lead to 30 women transitioning into employment.
The centre is a much-valued community hub with around 10,000 visitors per year and supports some amazing activities and organisations, including, the Neonatal Knitters, Ashton Martial Arts, and Lindley Educational Trust who deliver leadership programs for young people and Youth Services.
Jackie Moores, Principal of Tameside College:
“Tameside College has worked in partnership with Holy Trinity for a number of years under a subcontract arrangement. Through this partnership more women who would not otherwise access education have enabled to develop their second language English skills,
develop their confidence and are better able to access life in modern Britain. The co-design of high quality community based programmes ensures learners are successful and as a result increase their contribution to their families and their wider communities. It meets the needs of a group who are furthest from the labour market and every year we see the benefit of learners progressing to formal study at the college or elsewhere and improved outcomes for individuals, families and the community of Tameside”.
Cllr Joyce Bowerman St Peters Ward and HTC Management Committee member:
“It is wonderful news that Holy Trinity Community Centre has been awarded this much-needed and very welcome funding for the next three years. Holy Trinity CC is at the heart of our community and as Ward Councillor for St Peter’s I see first-hand the excellent work that takes place each day in the centre.
It is a valuable and much-loved resource for our community, helping and empowering our residents to achieve their potential.
The centre is a friendly and welcoming hub and I feel proud to be a part of this amazing and brilliant facility.
Judith Hilton Church Warden and HTC Management Committee member:
“This funding is great news for our community centre and its people. As church warden and a member of the management committee I feel the work done in the community centre is a very important part of mission in the Parish”.
The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP:
“I am delighted the centre has been funded for a further 3 years. Holy Trinity Community Centre is a truly wonderful place and a real jewel in the crown of the local community. I am always so proud of what they achieve, your partnership working is bringing some excellent opportunities to so many of my constituents, young and old, and I know you are making a real difference to so many families”.
For more information about the project and centre please visit: www.htccc.org