Volunteers helping people with sight loss or the elderly living in isolation and loneliness in the East End are getting a helping hand with cash from London City Airport.
Two East End charities are among nine getting a slice from the airport’s annual Community Chest.
One is the not-for-profit Vision Ability organisation that helps the “visually impaired and disabled”. It spreads awareness about disabilities and helps to prevent avoidable blindness.
The ‘user led’ team of visually-impaired directors offers support to tackling daily barriers and improve quality of life to reduce social isolation.
The other charity is Tower Hamlets Friends and Neighbours in Bethnal Green that offers befriending and advocacy to people mostly in their 80s or 90s and often living alone with limited mobility or health. Many of those they help face loneliness, social isolation, frailty or long-term illness.
The charity does regular home visits and phone calls offering help such as accompanying the elderly to appointments or to help them navigate through health and social care services.
The airport is giving £3,000 hand-outs to 13 charities and not-for-profit organisations in the four neighbouring east London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham and Waltham Forest, as well as Greenwich and Southwark.
“We have been deeply rooted in east London since the airport opened in 1987,” London City’s ‘people officer’ Michael Spiers explained.
“Our fund is making a difference to communities. The charities and organisations we’re supporting this year are doing important work to strengthen their communities to create opportunities for people.”
The airport is giving £3,000 hand-outs to 13 charities and not-for-profit organisations in the four neighbouring east London boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest, as well as Greenwich and Southwark.
Grants are available for those charities that can show they can make positive change. Applications can be made twice a year to be considered by the fund’s trustees.
Among previous charities getting City Airport funding was the Bow foodbank earlier this year, which was set up in 2016 in Bethnal Green and Bromley-by-Bow for 100 families in need — but now caters for 3,000 people with an ‘open door’ policy to help anyone in financial crisis.
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