Stockport, UK: Twenty community groups across Stockport have been awarded a total of £30,000 in funding from the first-ever Kao SEED Fund.
Kao Data, which is developing a £350m data centre in Stockport, has today announced the names of the 20 community groups, charities and not-for-profit organisations from across the borough, who have been awarded funding pots for a range of exciting and rewarding projects to benefit the wider Stockport community.
The Kao SEED Fund, which stands for Social Enterprise and Environment Development Fund, was launched last November and coincides with the ongoing construction of Kao Data’s new industrial-scale data centre in Reddish, which is due for completion in 2027.
More than 65 applications were received, and due to the large number of excellent initiatives, Kao Data increased its total funding pot by 50% to £30,000 in order to support 20 qualifying projects from the region. Kao Data also worked closely with Sector 3, Stockport's forward-thinking charity infrastructure organisation, to manage the funding process.
Some of the successful projects include plastic donation stations for the innovative Plastic Shed organisation; funding for Reddish Men in Sheds to repair donated bikes for the community; courses run by the Siyanda Trust for the African community to help improve their lives; Marbury Road Edible Garden, in Heaton Chapel, will offer therapeutic sessions for young people and Re:Dish in Reddish can now buy a printing machine to create their own tote bags for their social supermarket.
Kell Degnen, from Marbury Road Edible Gardenl, said: “This fund will allow us to reach our harder-to-engage and young neighbours, and it means we can do social therapeutic horticulture with them, which will be run by a trained practitioner, who also used to be a volunteer with us - all thanks to Kao Data’s SEED Fund.”
Kao Data’s Director of Marketing Lizzy McDowell developed the SEED Fund from concept through to delivery and added, “I am originally from Greater Manchester myself, so I’m thrilled be playing an active role in the Stockport business community. The Kao SEED Fund project has now become a central focus of our ESG agenda and enabled Kao Data to support as many community organisations and charities across this wonderful town as possible. We will be eagerly watching the development of all of these amazing projects throughout the rest of this year.”
Jo McGrath, CEO at Sector 3, said: “We were thrilled to work closely with Kao Data to develop their first ever Kao SEED fund, and we are equally delighted that it will continue year on year. We're so lucky that Stockport is home to businesses, like Kao Data, that want to be part of the wider community and invest in people, place and planet. Stockport has a great number of truly amazing voluntary, community and faith based groups and social enterprises and we look forward to seeing the positive impact from these funded projects.”
Maureen Ndlovu from Siyanda Trust, a community organisation working primarily with African Diaspora communities on mental health, drugs and alcohol issues, said: “We are going to use this money to deliver Live Life To The Full and Reclaim Your Life courses designed to improve people’s mental health wellbeing enabling them to lead fulfilling lives. We wanted to say thanks to Kao Data for their funding so that we can make this happen.”
Kao Data launched its inaugural Kao SEED Fund in 2024 as part of its pioneering Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments, and the company has an ambition to support all of the communities surrounding its data centres. As such, this ground-breaking ESG initiative is now being launched in several other locations, beginning with Harlow, Essex, and once again in Stockport, later this year.
The 20 organisations that have been awarded funding are: Marbury Road Edible Garden; Siyanda Development Trust; Plastic Shed; Re:Dish; Reddish Men in Sheds; Coming Home; Waves of Change; Drywave; Forward; PIE: Pursuing Individual Excellence; Arc; BOOST Wellbeing; Pure College; Place for Youth CIC; RCT Group; The Garden House; Feelgood Communities CIC; St Thomas’s CE Primary School PTA; Pure College and Blogs (Brinnington Local Organised Group Society).
- Arc is an arts and mental health organisation, which creates life-changing opportunities for people experiencing mental health challenges by providing access to creativity. The funding will allow them to deliver an artist development project to give participants the skills to set-up their own creative enterprises, which will include CPD sessions, mentoring and a Makers Market.
- BLOGS (Brinnington Local Organised Group Society) started a community group, just after Covid, to help with isolation. The funding will be used to build a peace garden at the side of the Lighthouse Church.
- BOOST Wellbeing delivers a range of weekly sport and physical activities classes, including boxing, weight training, circuits, walking, football and dance to people who are experiencing mental ill health. This funding will enable them to deliver a 12-week programme called Find Your Strength of weekly exercise classes.
- Coming Home supports women coming out of prison and helps them rebuild their lives. They will use the funding to invest in a bank of digital devices to deliver digital literacy sessions to women to help them apply for jobs and get their lives on track.
- Drywave supports young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training and who are vulnerable to developing problems with mental health or substance misuse. They will deliver a new project called ‘Beatz & Beyond’ which will include creative workshops in music production and DJing, as well as coaching and employability skills training.
- Forward runs wellbeing activities and events for the LGBTQ+ community such as discussion groups, games nights, clothes swaps, badminton, yoga. They will use the funding to put on a ball called ‘Fabulously Me’ at Edgeley Park with photographers, live entertainment and a red carpet to allow LGBTQ+ people to attend a prom as their true selves.
- Marbury Road Edible Garden supports the community on a social housing estate in Heaton Chapel, with social and therapeutic horticulture. The funding will be used to deliver sessions for hard-to-engage young people with a trainer in social therapeutic horticulture.
- PIE: Pursuing Individual Excellence is an educational social enterprise which works with women and young people to help them to become future ready. The funding will be used to expand their L!STEN Youth Alliance programme, to help 12 young people lead a social action project around climate change, which includes project management, digital, teamwork and budgeting.
- Place for Youth CIC set up the first Teenage Market in Stockport and will use the funding to run another Teenage Market event to take place this year, providing 20 young people with the opportunity to showcase their creative talents.
- Plastic Shed unites people around the issue of plastic pollution educational and creative workshops and has created the UK’s largest 100% recycled plastic mural in Stockport. This funding will make sure that each area of Stockport has its own designated drop off point that everyone will have access to.
- Pure College runs the The Nurture Allotment Group based at Whitehill Allotments in Reddish, which helps people with mental health. The funding will be used to expand the growth of fruit and vegetables by buying more seeds to grow.
- Pure College runs an allotment group in Brinnington Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The funding will enable them to use the allotment to grow produce, which will be donated to The Wellspring charity.
- RCT Group is a community group to create a safe space for families from diverse backgrounds. The funding will enable them to start an RCT Young Futures Initiative focusing on creative arts, digital literacy, and eco-awareness.
- Re:Dish tackles poverty and improves the wellbeing of those living in the local area, through their food bank, charity shop, social supermarket and community groups. The funding will enable them to buy a printing machine to make tote bags for their social supermarket, reducing the need for plastic bags.
- Reddish Men in Sheds creates a space to banish isolation and loneliness in men. The funding will go towards The Big Bike Giveaway project, which repairs donated bikes and sells them in the community for a modest price.
- Siyanda Development Trust is an African Diaspora-led organisation, focusing mainly on mental health, drugs and alcohol. The funding will be used to deliver Live Life To The Full (LLTTF) and Reclaim Your Life (RYL) courses to 50 women
- St Thomas’s CE Primary School PTA raises funds for the school and the funding will allow them to buy ivy green screens to combat pollution at school.
- The Feelgood Crochet Club CIC helps people out of poverty and to bridge communities through laughter and creativity. The funding will create the Feelgood Crochet Club, which will help improve mental health and build a sense of community
- The Garden House is a community urban farm in Marple, and the funding will support 20 young people aged 16-25 to undertake a 30-week placement to create and maintain a community growing garden.
- Waves of Change is a support programme to help women who are socially isolated or face physical /mental health challenges return to the workforce.This funding will help start an ‘Empowering Wavers’ programme, which will help women secure jobs through tailored support, training and mentoring.
