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"This has transformed my son from a social challenge into a calmer, more considerate young man."

Cycle Coaching South West

• £4,575 Grassroots Grant

This group helps to inspire and motivate young people on a deprived housing estate in Barnstaple by teaching them how to repair and ride bikes. The group gives the young people a healthy, stimulating and positive focus for activity and has helped to change the behaviour of many of the teenagers from anti-social and disruptive to motivated and enthusiastic. Now three of the young people have been selected by British Cycling to undergo further training which gives them a chance to be selected for the Olympic team.

One Dad comments about his son, "The group has helped change my son from a social challenge to a calmer, more considerate young man." 

 Mid Devon Voluntary Support Scheme

• £4,730 Grassroots Grant
• £11,000 Comic Relief

This self-help group helps vulnerable people through patches of loneliness, depression and anxiety and has received numerous grants from the Foundation. Members of the group are encouraged to get involved in activities which help build self-esteem and confidence - including running a market store and taking part in a cookery group.

"I am bi-polar and have had a problem with drink and low self-esteem. I needed emotional support and acute loneliness was eating away at me. Through the group I have met people I can talk to. We don't just sit around and discuss our problems. We are encouraged to meet up outside the group and I go swimming with new friends." Denise 

 Homestart Torbay

• £10,000 Torbay Targetted Support Fund

Homestart Torbay is a small local charity which sends trained volunteers into homes to offer practical support and comfort to parents with young children who are struggling to cope. A recent grant of £10,000 from the Foundation has helped Homestart Torbay to recruit and train 11 extra volunteers, now providing support and help to 17 families in Torbay, helping them to cope with the particular impact of the recession. Torbay includes four areas in the top 10% of the most deprived in the UK. 

When Julia had her twins, it was discovered that one twin, Harrison, had cerebral palsy, cortical blindness and profound learning difficulties. She found it hard to cope not only with a multiple birth but the emotional and physical strain of caring for Harrison whilst also caring for his brother Cooper. Her husband was away for long stretches at a time working as a long distance lorry driver and times were difficult. Tracey, a trained volunteer from Homestart, provided both emotional and practical support to Julia and the twins, giving her time-out to have a bath or relax, allowing her to spend quality time with each of the boys in turn and giving her someone to share her worries with.   

"Homestart Torbay was a lifeline for me and I am so appreciative of the support I received from my volunteer. The first 2 years of my twins lives were incredibly difficult for me, both emotionally and physically, and I will remember forever that I got through it with a Homestart volunteer by my side, sharing the joy and the pain with me, and helping me reach the point where I actually found my light at the end of the tunnel. My heartfelt thanks go to my volunteer and the Homestart Service." Julia

Key Stop Luncheon Club

• £1,000 Grassroots Grant

Loneliness is a major problem for many elderly people - 150,000 of them live alone in Devon.  The Key Stop Luncheon Club in Plymouth is run by volunteers who provide older people in the Keyham area with a three course meal, limitless tea and biscuits and an opportunity to play cards, bingo and get out and meet other people every week. There's also an opportunity for local councillors, Police Community Support Officers and Health Advice Workers to drop in and provide information and listen to concerns. Every August the group runs a "Holiday at Home" initiative which includes food, gentle exercises, quizzes, trips out, talks and activites. A £1,000 grant from the Foundation has helped this to run for a fourth year.

The Honiton 729 Club  

• £4,575 Grassroots Grant

The Honiton 729 Club received a £4,575 grant from the Foundation to help fund activities and trips for the 80 adults with learning disabilities which attend the club every week. The club puts on a range of activities and trips which are fun but also helps to build confidence and independence in the members and encourage them to learn skills they can use in everyday life. There is no other social outlet for adults with learning difficulties in the area and there is a huge waiting list for the group.

"For small voluntary groups like ours, it's particularly difficult to raise the money we need to keep going so a grant from the Foundation was a godsend. Our club is so popular with over 80 members, it's fantastic to now be able to put on more varied activities and trips which will help our members to build their confidence." Susan Meers, committee member of Honiton 729 Club. Her son Barry attends the club. 

MOPS - Shilhay Community 

• £5,000 Grassroots Grant 

Shilhay Community was set up in Exeter in 1967 particularly to assist people who have become homeless. It includes a 45 bed residential resettlement project, 3 shared homes and a street outreach team. Many of the members it supports are coping with other problems like poor mental health, substance abuse, poor family relationships, learning disabilities or are survivors of abuse.

MOP (Meaningful Occupational Projects) is run by Shilhay as a means of providing inspiration, motivation, learning opportunities and way for members to regain self-esteem and self-confidence and move on with their lives. 

The Foundation's most recent grant helped to fund a photography project, giving some members a chance to explore their creativity and learn new skills. As a result, Steven who took part in the project, is now off benefits and has a job photographing vacant properties for Devon Homes Choice. It even looks like the photography service provided by MOPS could turn into a social enterprise business, providing more opportunities for work for former Shilhay members.

"It's better for me to have something meaningful to do and be appreciated for it...this was something I struggled with before joining MOP and becoming employed again. I was living on my own, not very active and my social life was poor...now it feels like a whole new world is opening up for me." Steven

"In February 2008, I was homeless, living in a tent and using some of Exeter's soup kitchens. Then I became a member of MOP, what a difference! In atmosphere and attitude, a place where you can begin to reintegrate back into society. They have helped me rebuild my confidence...!" Helena

Exbourne and Jacobstowe Community Shop

• £5,000 Grassroots Grant 

The Exbourne and Jacobstowe Community Shop and Cafe was set up by volunteers when the villages lost their post-offices and shops, leaving many villagers isolated and without facilities.

It originally began as a way of providing bulky items for the older residents or those with young children who couldn't manage on the bus but has grown into a focus for the community. It provides not only provisions but a place to meet up for young and old, including mothers from isolated farming communities in the surrounding area and older residents.

35 volunteers run the cafe and it stocks 70% of its produce from within a ten mile radius, helping to support local producers. It also sells home-grown vegetables grown by adults with learning difficulties at the nearby Eastbrook Farm.

"It's now so much more than a shop and really brings the community together. In the recent snow, we even managed to incorporate a soup kitchen and deliver it to the older residents who couldn't get out." Sally Hordern, founder member

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