'Fantastic' community groups celebrated at 40th anniversary event
TWO Rotherham organisations were among community groups in the spotlight at a special anniversary awards event hosted by South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation.
Supporters and dignitaries from across the region came together to celebrate four decades of local giving and community impact at SYCF.
Cortonwood Comeback took the title of Rotherham Community Impact Award, presented by John Edwards, CEO of Rotherham Council, while Harthill Tea and Day Social Club was highly commended.
Around 130 guests attended the SYCF Community Celebration at Victoria in Kelham Island in Sheffield, including Professor Dame Hilary Chapman DBE, Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire.
The event, hosted by Andy Kershaw, training manager for South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau, which is part of SYCF, included four regional Community Impact Awards recognising organisations making a lasting difference in their local areas.
SYCF is South Yorkshire’s largest local grant-giving charity.
Since being established in 1986, the foundation has distributed more than £40million in funding to thousands of grassroots organisations and charities across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
Rotherham winners Cortonwood Comeback Community Centre has been a trusted community hub at the heart of the Dearne Valley for more than 40 years, supporting local people through hardship, homelessness, food poverty and isolation.
Denise Lelliott from Cortonwood Comeback said: “We are absolutely delighted and honoured to receive this award.
“For four decades, our community centre has always been about supporting local people through both good times and difficult times and making sure nobody feels alone.”
John Edwards, chief executive officer, Rotherham Council, said: “There are so many small and large voluntary sector organisations right across region – 1,400 in Rotherham – and it takes organisations like South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation to reach out, provide routes to funding and give them support to enable them to do the fantastic work they do to support communities.”
Martin Singer, SYCF chief executive, said: “This celebration was about recognising the incredible people and organisations who work tirelessly to strengthen communities across South Yorkshire every single day.
“What makes South Yorkshire special is the kindness and determination of its communities. “We are incredibly proud to have worked alongside so many inspiring organisations and individuals over the past four decades.