KCCF visits Belfast

Last month, members of the KCCF team travelled to the vibrant city of Belfast to learn how our funding is transforming lives and building sustainable communities. Read on to explore how the organisations and community leaders we visited are reaching out to those in need and weaving threads of hope into the fabric of the city.

East Belfast Mission

East Belfast Mission has served the Newtownards Road area since 1826, offering services which aim to alleviate the difficulties faced by the community. The organisation gives the people of East Belfast the building blocks to build better futures and opportunities for themselves. Through the Coronation Food Project, KCCF is supporting the Mission’s food poverty projects, including a daily community fridge.

KCCF met with the team and volunteers to learn how surplus food is distributed to the community, helping those experiencing food insecurity. It was great to hear that the Mission runs a range of projects and wraparound services, helping people to access the support that they need.

Willowfield Parish Community Association

Also in East Belfast, Willowfield Parish Community Association works to share hope, love and peace  – creating a thriving, inclusive and confident community. The KCCF team spent time with the staff and some programme attendees to learn more about their work supporting women and families. Through a weekly arts programme, the Association helps women to grow their confidence and self-esteem, and build resilience while navigating the impact of historic events.

The Association also provides wider support to local families, including drugs education, homework clubs, financial literacy workshops and supporting people into employment. It was wonderful to engage with programme attendees and learn how KCCF’s support through the small grants programme is making a significant difference in their lives.

Autism NI

The KCCF team also visited small grantee Autism NI to discuss activities in support of autism awareness month and learn more about how they work towards a more inclusive neurodiverse community.

Autism NI offer many local support services including a Helpline that receives over 8,000 calls a year, an Early Intervention Service that supports families after receiving an autism diagnosis, Support Groups throughout local communities and accredited training to parents, carers, and professionals. It was particularly interesting to learn more about their workplace neurodiverse training services and engagement work with policy makers in Northern Ireland.

NICVA

The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action is a membership and representative umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector. We were delighted to meet with NICVA’s Funding Officer to discuss the non-profit sector, and find out more about NICVA’s important work, the challenges and opportunities in the sector and how best KCCF can target support to communities in Northern Ireland.

Lord Lieutenant

The KCCF team’s two-day visit concluded with a worthwhile meeting with the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, Dame Fionnuala Jay O’Boyle – a long standing supporter of KCCF’s work in Northern Ireland. It was helpful to gain high level insight into the role of the Northern Ireland Lord Lieutenancy group and needs across the counties. The Lord Lieutenant’s network celebrates and encourages volunteering, community service and the work of youth organisations; we couldn’t be more thrilled for their ongoing support.

We left Belfast feeling incredibly inspired by all the wonderful people and organisations we met – thank you so much to everyone for such a warm welcome! Each organisation we met is weaving a unique thread into the tapestry of the city, contributing to a collective narrative of kindness and compassion and working to transform lives and build sustainable communities. We look forward to continuing to support Northern Irish communities across all of our grant programmes in the years to come.