Powerhouse grant recipients announced
Published on 30 April 2024
Didcot Powerhouse Fund announces 21 grants totalling £108,000 to local charities and community groups, with ten new charities.
This brings the tally of grant giving since Powerhouse launched just over two years ago to 56 grants, totalling £283,000. The funding for these Powerhouse grants comes from local donors through companies, individuals, and community fundraising efforts, including those from Milton Park, who is a quantum donor and a founding member.
90% of beneficiaries are in the Powerhouse area of Didcot and the surrounding villages, from Culham in the North to Blewbury in the South.
The ten new charity recipients include Reducing the Risk, which will be developing an ecosystem of support for domestic abuse, with a focus on the elderly and more rural parts of Powerhouse area. Another charity My Life My Choice, empowers adults with learning difficulties to have choice and control over their lives.
Given the importance of science in the Powerhouse area, two new charities will use their grants to introduce more science to younger children: Bright Sparks Science will run science workshops in year 6 primary schools, while Digit<all> will offer coding for climate workshops for 9-13 year olds in schools and the Didcot Library, including the provision of 60 programmable micro:bit devices.
Elizabeth Paris, Chair of The Didcot Powerhouse Fund said: “I would like to congratulate all our grant recipients in 2024. With 38 applications this year the Grants Panel had a difficult choice, but these 21 charities demonstrated both an understanding and a commitment to our local community.
“What was especially pleasing was to see previous grant recipients now working together in partnership, and our aspiration for Powerhouse in 2024 is to create more opportunities for Powerhouse grant recipients to collaborate. After all, we all share the same vision – to make Didcot and the surrounding villages a fabulous place to live and work.”
The needs of the community are not solved with just a single grant, and Powerhouse is committed to sustained support in areas of the greatest need. Among the 2024 grant recipients are charities that will be building upon the impact achieved through previous grants such as Didcot Baby Monday, supporting babies and their families, The Cornermen helping to prevent male suicide, and charities supporting mental health in young people, such as Didcot TRAIN and the Didcot project of The Abingdon Bridge.
David Johnston, MP for Wantage and Didcot said: “Once again, I am delighted to see that the Powerhouse grant funding will go where it can achieve maximum community impact. I would like to thank the Grants Panel for their hard work in evaluating all the applications this year and to say a huge thank you to all the donors and fundraisers who contributed towards the Fund.”
A full list of all 2024 Powerhouse grant recipients can be found on their website, where you can also read about the impact achieved locally through grant-giving in their 2023 Impact Report.
