Local Community
Kidron Project’s mission is to equip individuals in Inverclyde with practical and emotional support that values the whole person. By ‘whole person’, we refer to the belief that people are body, mind and spirit, and that to improve a person’s wellbeing in one area of life, attention must be paid to improving wellbeing in every area of life.
The majority of the group have some degree of mobility difficulty and so we provide minibus transport to the church and home again, most people would be unable to attend without this and this is the service for which we have very kindly been funded.
Local communities representing many faiths, and none came together to share and enjoy performances from local children, artists, and musicians, including the World Music Youth Choir, the Reggae Choir and the Bond Street Singers. We were also delighted to be joined by a CBSO quartet as part of the CBSO in the City programme.
Time to Grow
Since 1845, the Elizabeth Fry Charity has been offering accommodation and support to vulnerable women. Today, the Charity runs Elizabeth Fry House, a twenty-four bed Ministry of Justice Approved Premises for women.
Elizabeth Fry House offers a balance of support and monitoring to help women transform chaotic situations and address issues that may prevent them from leaving the criminal justice system and leading safe, healthy, independent lives. The Time to Grow Therapeutic Gardening Project was launched in early 2023.
Muslim Women’s Council is a registered charity based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Our vision is ‘for every woman, life with all its opportunities’, and our mission is to empower women for the benefit of society. Our project entitled ‘Project Harmony: Brewing Understanding’, is about developing an open space for women of Jewish & Muslim communities to engage in constructive dialogue about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
We hope to develop strong, lasting relationships based on commonalities and experiences among women from both communities, and to reduce stereotype, prejudice and misconceptions about each other’s communities.
Francis of Assisi C of E Church in Bournville is approaching its 100th year anniversary in 2025 and one of the many ways in which hope to be celebrating this notable milestone is to create a stained-glass window using ideas from the entire Bournvillian community and beyond!
Since July 2022, the Project Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Community (UOAC) in collaboration with Anglican Christ Church Bexleyheath have created a vital lifeline for Ukrainians in South East London. This initiative offers humanitarian aid, wellbeing support, language classes, and crafts sessions to help community members integrate into the UK, whilst still preserving and practicing their cultural heritage. Additionally, the community has established a Ukrainian School.
Rise Theatre’s brand new, original, open air Passion Play took place in Forbury Gardens in Reading town centre in March 2024, as part of an ecumenical Easter Festival organised by The Gate. This free event for the people of Reading and the surrounding area attracted large crowds to reflect on and celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ during the Easter weekend.
Performed by a cast of professional actors, Rise Theatre brought their unique style to create an emotionally impacting performance. Plans are now in place to perform it again in Reading during Easter 2025.
The Faith Guiding Course is for those wishing to be trained to lead high-quality educational visits to places of worship. The Faith Encounter Programme has extensive knowledge of the faith sector and involvement with a wide range of faith-inspired organisations which has helped them to successfully engage collaboratively with diverse faith communities in Birmingham, the Midlands and further afield.
Their aims include offering customised courses in Faith Guiding to train Guides of all faiths to receive visitors with confidence and openness at their places of worship in the Midlands Region.
Creative Soul
Nine Elms Arts Ministry have been delivering creative projects in the Nine Elms development area of London since 2018. They launched Creative Soul, a free Creative Health and Wellbeing programme, in 2022 to help nurture holistic wellbeing and bring the diverse communities together. Creative Soul Café offers opportunities for mindful craft activities in popular venues for local residents.
Creative Soul Parents sessions focus on supporting parents from local primary schools in their own wellbeing and encouraging their creativity through a range of art forms. A new programme, Creative Soul Space, is also planned. This will offer opportunities for gently exploring Christian spirituality through creative and immersive experiences.
Living Well With Difference is a project in Luton, run by The Feast Youth Project in partnership with Youth Network. We are running dialogue workshops with school-age students with the aim of equipping them to have more constructive discussions about divisive issues.
The students will explore The Feast’s Guidelines for Dialogue as a framework for the kind of dialogue that leads to increased understanding of one another – dialogue that allows people to understand “the other” even if they can never agree with them, in order to create a platform from which they can work together to bring life into their community. They will then practice the art of constructive dialogue.
Project Playmaker is a new initiative from Onside Soccer which uses the power of football to improve the lives of children and young people. Working in Belfast, we deliver free, cross-community football training sessions for children aged 7–14 years old, as well as a mentorship programme for young people aged 15-25, focusing on training to become community football coaches, gaining qualifications, work experience and moving towards paid employment.
Hidden Treasure: Interfaith Music and Poetry Festival
Hidden Treasure was a project to bring people together of different faiths across rural Herefordshire to share the richness of poetry and music. Held in a 6th century church and former pilgrimage site over 30 folk joined us from Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Baha’i, Sufi and Buddhist Faiths. Poetry spanning centuries were read by the attendees and interspersed with contemplative music played on instruments from around the world.
The workshops ranged from Persian Calligraphy to Poetry & Art. The local school prepared a display of their own poetry after visiting a waterfall in Wales. And the lunch table reflected the traditions - and appetites – of the different faiths present!
Community and Schools Graffiti Project
The project will see a partnership between the church, three local primary schools and three different artists to create a new public art exhibition as part of the churches annual arts festival, but also leave an artistic legacy in one of the local primary schools. The project will see a mural painted as part of the churches work with that school, as well as a graffiti artist working with pupils in our three local primary schools to help them design, create and learn the skills to paint the work themselves.
Soulful Sunday Mental Health Project
1 in 4 people in Bath will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year. 1 in 6 experience a common mental health problem (like anxiety and depression) in any given week. We’re running our Soulful Sunday ‘mindfulness’ get-together events to help address Bath's growing mental health epidemic.
There are never enough services available that can truly address the district's mental health issues. Our monthly programmes provide support in a non-judgemental, ‘all-welcome’ setting.
The Open to All Exhibition is a tour of paintings in UK Cathedrals and large city centre churches to spread the message of God’s inclusivity. A partnership between fine artist Elizabeth Gray-King and Open Table Network, a charity supporting churches to welcome LGBTQI+ people and their advocates, the purpose is to open and continue dialogue amongst affirming Christians and people who visit their churches.
Our rationale is that large city centre sites welcome visitors and, in that process, can share the reality of God’s inclusivity to a wider and more varied set of visitors than local congregations.
The Stroud Festival of Wonder held in November was designed to inspire wonder in an age of exhaustion. It offered a weekend of free activities centred around 5 spectacular circus performances, Magnificat!, based around the story of Mary saying ‘yes’ to the Angel Gabriel.
This free weekend proved a huge success for attendees of all ages with other events including dance, comedy, magic and music. The festival was based at St Laurence Church: the Stroud Centre for Peace and the Arts. Organiser Phil Coysh said, “This free event for the Stroud community received huge community interest with over 2,000 attending and support from over 100 volunteers. We are grateful to our funders for making this festival possible. It was truly a wonderful and deeply spiritual weekend.
Discovering Prayer’s guided prayer times and short online courses draw on these insights to help people learn how to pray. We are now developing an exciting new mobile app to enable thousands more to get into a life-changing rhythm of prayer.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Libya, and Syria. These are just four of the dozen or so nationalities represented at King’s Arms Project’s English Club. The ladies from English Club have asked us over the years to facilitate a sewing group for them to socialise, sew, speak English, and improve their job prospects.
King’s Arms Project, along with Westhill’s generous funding, has launched Community Threads to fulfil this dream. Community Threads will be a group where community development and skills training come together to help refugees and migrants stand on their own two feet in their new home country.
Equiano Art provides art therapy sessions to female survivors of modern slavery engaged in JERICHO’s Equiano project. Sessions enable women to explore trauma, emotions, wellbeing, faith, identity and aspects of recovery through different creative media and within a safe environment.
The Mint House was formed from a collaboration involving academics, practitioners, faith groups and others. Our ‘Building bridges’ project will bring together restorative practitioners, academics and leaders from across sectors and specialists in areas such as culture change, organisational development and community engagement in a series of ‘research and practice dialogues’ during which participants will explore the challenges and creative opportunities for embedding restorative practice.
We believe in the transformative power of these encounters to share the realities faced by people seeking sanctuary in order to break down barriers, to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions, and to change the narrative around the subject of forced migration and help to develop empathy and compassion.
ACE Dance and Music are deeply grateful to Westhill Endowment for their support of the Doorstep Carnival, which we delivered with Black Voices at Grosvenor Road Studios on 26 August 2023. We welcomed over a thousand people to enjoy a street Carnival procession, a new photographic exhibition by local photographer, Rob Bailey, and music and spoken work performances by local artists and musicians in the Community Garden. Our event was themed around Windrush 75 and we welcomed many Elders – our Windrush Pioneers – to celebrate with us. Despite the rain showers, everyone had a wonderful time and we are already looking forward to next year’s Doorstep Carnival!
Through 'Detached' young people are given time to build relationships of trust, and access advice and support on a wide range of issues. It’s open to all local young people. We aim to create ‘A space where young people can experience meaningful connection, a greater sense of their significance and value within the community’.
Aspire Education is a project of Caritas Diocese of Salford, a social action charity based in the North West of England. Aspire Education works with refugees and asylum seekers to help the reach their education and career goals. This is done through English classes, mentoring, and wrap-around wellbeing support.
We are incredibly grateful to Westhill Endowment for their generous grant towards the transportation and resource aspects on the project. This will ensure that refugees are able to access lessons and are able to make use of quality resources during their time in the project.
Our project aims at building strong, integrative relationships between minority and majority communities. It runs in several areas of the UK.
Celebrating Diversity – bringing together majority, minority, interfaith and multi-ethnic communities through the arts. We aim to build lasting positive community relationships using the skills of our artists, musicians, storytellers and community-builders. We invite local artistes to participate to foster equal cultural exchange and understanding in each locality.
Oxford Three Faiths Encounter – Spirit of Peace is part of this team, which delivers residential conferences and online events, bringing together Jews, Christians and Muslims for study, encounter, understanding, and lasting partnerships.
Trinity Church Central London has grown from 1 to 88 Asylum seekers (+123 online with a significant presence in a Middle Eastern Country) in the last 18 months.
We help with clothes, a simple cooked meal on Sunday, transport to Church where needed and money for emergency food (where Children cannot eat the hotel food which is different from the food they are used to). We also offer help to process trauma for Asylum seekers and a safe space for friendship and community.
With over five decades of global experience in conflict zones, CHIPS is dedicated to fostering peace and reconciliation. We empower communities to instigate enduring grassroots transformations for restored peace. Since 2014, we've been actively engaged in Brixton, UK, focusing on countering youth violence through constructive avenues for young people. Filmmaking has proven to be a powerful avenue for Brixton's youth, teaching teamwork, collaboration, unity through the art of storytelling.
In 2021-2022, our youth crafted the poignant short film, "That's How It Really Is," shedding light on subjects like young carers, self-harm, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and child molestation. With support from Westhill Endowment, we are able to orchestrate eight screening events nationwide, encouraging dialogue, support, and proactive engagement among young people. These screenings provide an opportunity for the youth involved in the film to shape, develop, and facilitate critical conversations on these complex subjects, ultimately offering a platform for vulnerable exploration of the contemporary youth experience.
At end of life, spiritual support helps people to explore and connect with what matters most to them and work through difficult existential questions about life and death. The Hospice of St Francis’s spiritual advisory team supports patients admitted to the Hospice’s Inpatient Unit to address these issues.
Thanks to this grant, the team will be able to extend this support to people receiving care at home ensuring 40 more people find peace and acceptance as they approach the end of life.
Westhill’s kind provision includes the support of a weekly wellbeing gardening group and the production of permanent outdoor sculptures, alongside the loan of Westhill’s sculptures, to assist in working through the grieving process, as part of the Bereavement Support Project.
Sixty-One helps prisoners and ex-prisoners lead meaningful crime-free lives within Greater Bristol. We do this by inspiring, enabling and supporting the local community to provide the relational and practical support offenders need.
Much of our activity is partnership based, particularly with churches. Westhill’s' funding will be used to fund our work supporting church-based Hubs. These provide regular community-based support to small groups of ex-prisoners. This support, combined with a local community connection, can make a profound impact on the offender’s life, and chance of reoffending.
The Smethwick Places of Worship Heritage Trail will be a chance for people to visit Smethwick, explore the diverse faith communities and learn about the history and current life of the different places of worship. There will be 3 trails of varying lengths that will incorporate Churches, Mosques, Gurdwaras and Mandirs, they will reveal something of the rich industrial history of the area and the way faith impacts daily life for people today. The trail will be launched in spring 2024 when people will be able to join organised walks or download maps and details and take the walk themselves.
There have been tensions in Leicester between members of different communities during the past eighteen months. We have been working with a wide range of community groups and individuals to develop a clearer understanding of the issues and enable people of differing perspectives to encounter each other in a safe and supportive environment.
Thanks to funding from Westhill, we will develop this work further through a focused study day. We will hear in turn Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian perspectives on the situation, before facilitating a reflective discussion amongst participants as to how to maintain strong community relations.
Working through the Chaplaincy departments of the prisons, our Christian values of showing compassion and support to those in need, underpin all our work with those who have had contact with the Criminal Justice System. Our courses, through-the-gate, and community support work are accessible and welcome women of all faiths and none.
The AICA also strives to create better understanding and awareness of Indian culture, heritage and values to encourage and promote cross and inter-cultural communication. One of the ways we achieve this is by running and celebrating important social events - bringing communities together to celebrate Indian history and culture. The Diwali Festival of Lights is scheduled to take place on the 10th November 2023.
Bolton Lads and Girls Club (BLGC) is an innovative and progressive young people’s charity based in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Established in 1889, our mission is to enable children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to live healthier, happier, and safer lives. We believe that every child deserves the best start in life and chance to fulfil their potential.
We offer training to faith communities and external organisations, including schools, police and local authority. Supported by our own research into young people’s experiences of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in schools, we’re providing training for educators to equip them to shape and deliver faith literate RSE.
As a project of the Methodist Church, we are built upon Christian foundations of seeking truth, challenging injustice, social activism and operating for the common good. Our broad programme includes developing high quality art exhibitions, events, workshops, conferences, gardening and publications. Anyone, of any faith or none, is welcome to participate in our programme. (Photo credit: Adam Dixon)
Grammar Schools were always designed to improve social mobility….. So what has happened…?
Fairview Education provides Free Tuition Bursaries to disadvantaged children in Gloucestershire who qualify for Free School Meals (FSM) so that they have a better chance of passing the 11+ Grammar school entry examination.
Gloucestershire grammar schools are state funded but have a very low FSM intake (4.5%) compared with other secondary schools (16%). This is because the entry examination is so difficult that many parents employ private tutors to help their children prepare. This is simply unaffordable for FSM families and so we provide weekly face to face tutoring for free during the year before the examination.
The Praxis Centre exists to help Christians bring hope and justice in their local communities and our society. Our Hopeful Activists Podcast aims to inspire you with bold stories and deep discussion from a huge range of activists.
Our Praxis Labs online training creates space for would-be and existing change-makers to reflect, think and dream, as well as to learn practical skills for campaigning and community projects.
The Cinnamon Network makes it as easy as possible for local churches to set up sustainable social action projects, find funding and get the right support and training to make a positive impact.
To achieve this, they collaborate with a network of 37 grass-roots social action charities – known as the Cinnamon Recommended Projects. They are investing in the growth of this network, and together unlock the potential of churches of all denominations across the UK to make a difference in their communities. Please read on to find out more.
Bridges for Communities is a small, innovative charity that seeks to help make Bristol a more welcoming, inclusive and fair city. Our projects connect people of different cultures and faiths, in order to challenge stereotypes and prejudice and promote friendship and understanding. A major part of our work is focused on helping refugees and asylum seekers to feel welcome and part of the community here.
The Leicester Schools Peace Project is supporting the flourishing of our superdiverse city by creating a scheme of work for Peace Education from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4. This project is in partnership with Leicester SACRE and will be part of the New Agreed Syllabus for Leicester.
The Hildegard Project, builds on the work of the community, facing a rapidly changing world. We find ourselves in our 30th Anniversary Year and continue our dedication to the healing ministry. Holy Rood House supports people of all ages in their physical, mental and spiritual health through recognising the interface between the gardens, arts, spirituality and justice, which get to the heart of this project.
Our therapeutic and theological work inform each other, challenging the community to respond to the health needs of individuals, especially children and young people, whose lives have been shattered due to the pandemic and who are struggling with the fears of climate change, war, and anxieties building up in their family lives. We are also seeking through this project to respond to the healing of communities and to the earth.
The Parish Trust is a registered charity based in Trethomas, Caerphilly. The charity was established in 2019 and is founded on Christian principles. There are many projects that come under The Parish Trust, one being ‘The CARE Project’.
The CARE Project helps alleviate food poverty by providing care packages of food and non-food essentials to users that are struggling financially, elderly or vulnerable individuals who are unable to leave their homes to purchase food from the shops. The CARE Project also offers a prescription collection service, a listening ear and pastoral care.
The Lighthouse is a vibrant community hub that hosts a range of creative projects to support and empower those who find themselves on the margins.
Relational Hub supports youth workers and their organisations to create sustainable youth work projects that provide a home away from home for the young people who need one most.
Our puppets have been telling Bible stories now for over 20 years! We then go on to lead lessons and Godly Play, allowing the children the opportunity to think about world issues and the life they lead.
Peer support to parents bereaved by suicide offering the compassion, empathy, understanding, friendship, and hope that only other bereaved parents can give. The Compassionate Friends provides in-person support, either one-to[1]one, or in groups, including those dedicated solely to parents bereaved by suicide, and at weekend retreats for parents bereaved by suicide; online via Facebook or the community forum, or in online support groups for parents bereaved by suicide; on the phone or by email via our national helpline or through a Grief Companion; in print via our leaflets, including ‘After Suicide’, and our postal bereavement library.
We also sign post them to other organizations who are able to assist them and go out to events. We run activities for the children of parents who are learning with us. We feel that this is important as children so often have better English than their parents and by necessity become their parents’ helpers as the family tries to navigate their way through a system in a new language.
The town of Midsomer Norton in Somerset has changed over the years. Previously a buzzing market town, more opportunities are needed for its increasingly diverse cultural groups to mix and interact with each other. A sizable Muslim community now meets weekly in the Town Hall for prayer, and the local Hindu community has just opened the area’s first ever Hindu temple.
The Social Integration Project aims to engage with all religious groups, hoping to create links for members to engage with wider civic society. We also want to create an environment where people of all backgrounds feel a sense of pride in the town.
Muslim Women’s Council is a registered charity based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Our vision is ‘for every woman, life with all its opportunities’, and our mission is to empower women for the benefit of society. Our project, ‘Finding common ground through calligraphy’, is about using the beautiful art of calligraphy to bring together women of different faiths living in the same city, ensuring more women feel their stories are heard and valued. We will create an exhibition that encourages communities to converge and reflect on shared heritage living in Bradford regardless of faith.
As a Grace Enterprises business, all employees are paid the real Living Wage and given the support they need to flourish in their job. We provide marquee hire services for weddings, parties and corporate events. This creates amazing side-by-side jobs where colleagues can be trained, supported and encouraged. We also offer events management and consultation services which enable us to provide an all-inclusive events package.
The Recovery Foundation exists to pass on the hope that we have by encouraging growth and recovery and positively impacting our community. We are a charity based in Birmingham with a focus on providing support to those recovering from a mental illness.
We offer a 12-month support package which includes Peer Support Groups, workshops, training and 1:1 support. Our main focus is to demonstrate that a mental illness isn’t a life sentence – there is hope. We teach people through our programme to find, grow and sustain hope throughout life’s ups and downs.
3 years ago we set up a network of little pantries with the simple idea that people could place food in them or take as needed, we have discovered these to be a real blessing to our local community.
Seedbeds runs Change Makers to bring together small groups of adults nominated from their local communities because they are seen to have the potential to become community leaders. This 5 month emerging community leaders programme culminates with the Change Maker pitching their idea for change to a Resource Panel. Scholarships are provided to make the programmes as accessible as possible.
Through Westhill’s support a new version of Change Makers will be offered at a Level III NCFE qualification in ‘Sustainable Community Leadership’. As many of our participants have no qualifications, we hope this recognised qualification could further a pathway of educational and vocational growth.
Stories of Hope and Home’s Enabling Encounter Project has two interdependent aspects. First, to create safe, welcoming and mutually supportive space for people with lived experience of seeking asylum to come together to build community and to explore and process their experiences. And second, to bring them together with others, facilitating encounters particularly with children and young people and those who work with them. Story-sharing and first-hand encounter have the power to transform understanding, to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions, and to develop empathy and compassion, which are the foundations for building relationships across diverse cultures and experiences.
Keynsham Girls’ Brigade is planning a series of displays at Victoria Methodist Church and Key Centre - Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, Fair Trade, Harvest and the Environmental importance of gardens. They will be informative, multi-sensory, thought provoking and accessible to different ages and abilities. They will also produce smaller displays in the Baptist Church garden which opens onto Keynsham High Street.
Providing an opportunity for community leaders nationally to access essential training and support, we are enabling them to develop and deliver effective specialist mentoring and outreach projects: these projects aim to address complex social issues, including homelessness, poverty, and abuse; encompassing the holistic needs of the individuals they serve while increasing awareness and understanding of mental health within their wider community.
RJ Working is a Cornish charity that uses Restorative Practice to support young people to build their social and community connections, reduce loneliness and conflict and to take the lead in addressing social injustice issues in their lives and communities.
The Ripple Effect Programme enables young people to learn Restorative principles and language and develop their communication and problem solving skills. Westhill’s funding will enable over 70 young people from areas experiencing social and economic disadvantage in West Cornwall to have increased community connection, reduce their risk of social and school exclusion and empower them as leaders.
Entraide was set up to support asylum seekers, refugees and other vulnerable migrants in Solihull and the surrounding area to facilitate their integration into society.
The project funded by Westhill aims to facilitate the integration of Afghan refugees resettled in Solihull and the surrounding area through befriending, leisure and recreational activities and employment support.
‘The Centre’ provides safe, inclusive and welcoming provision for young people in Nottingham. It is an opportunity for young people to take part in weekly activities and access support in a holistic programme of creative and skill-building activities that include drama, dance, beatboxing and spoken word, enabling participants to catch a break in a supportive environment. (Photo: Owen Harvey)
Combatting poverty and preventing homelessness has been our leading mission for more than 25 years. Embedded in communities of deprivation, we exist because chronic poverty, extreme inequality, and severe disadvantage exist in Greater Manchester.
Our Connecting Communities project focuses on the work we do with refugees and asylum seekers. We create an aspirational space for people to develop their English language skills, get involved with holistic activities and build a community.
For over 55 years SCT has been supporting people in East London affected by homelessness and addiction. Our projects provide stepping-stones towards recovery and a positive life.
Gardening is one of the activities offered in our Training & Development Centre, where SCT residents and members of the wider recovery community can learn new skills, make friends and have fun.
Our community gardens are in the grounds of St. Leonard’s Church at the heart of Shoreditch, and are carefully maintained by our students and volunteers throughout the year.
Beauty for Ashes Refuges was set up in response to the plight of women and children fleeing domestic abuse who were being turned away from refuges due to their immigration status. We envision a world free from domestic abuse. But until then we want to ensure that all women fleeing domestic abuse, regardless of their immigration status, are able to access refuge provision.
We will provide refuge in the North West of England for migrant women fleeing domestic violence, who due to the No Recourse to Public Funds Policy cannot access ‘normal refuge.’
Off the Fence Trust works to redress the social and economic imbalances in Brighton & Hove. To achieve this we tackle both the root causes and the effects of emotional and physical poverty; walking alongside those impacted; providing practical support and taking hands and hearts to where they are most needed. Our Antifreeze project covers short-term emergency support, medium term care and long term solutions.
Millions of families are facing not knowing where the next meal is coming from, so The Message Community Grocery is here to help. Inside a Grocery you’ll find a range of food option and families can join for £5 annual membership. This gives them access to three healthy shops per week at £3 per shop (worth £30+) as well as access to a range of support courses that are accessible to the whole family.
The Loving Earth Project helps people engage with questions about the environment creatively, and without being overwhelmed, through an international community textile project and in other ways.
Travelling exhibitions of textile panels highlight some of the precious things at stake, and what some people are doing to help. These, and associated events, can inspire and empower further action. Please see our page for more information.