WightAID Awards Nearly £13,000 To Seven Isle Of Wight Community Projects

Seven community organisations across the Isle of Wight have received a share of almost £13,000 in the latest round of grants from WightAID.

A total of £12,950 has been awarded to projects supporting education, community wellbeing, sport, accessibility and the Island's carnival tradition.

The largest grant of £5,000 has gone to the Isle of Wight Literary Festival's Schools' Programme.

The funding will help bring 24 leading children's authors into every school on the Island as part of the Year of Reading, encouraging more young people to develop a love of books.

Dawn Haig-Thomas, Schools' Programme Director for the Isle of Wight Literary Festival, said:

"This grant is vital to us. It costs around £25,000 to put on this programme and it is important on the Island, where literacy levels are below the national average."

With carnival season underway, two carnival organisations have also benefited.

East Cowes Carnival Association has received £500 towards new costumes for its revived Christmas Carnival, while Sandown Carnival Association has been awarded £450 to purchase new promotional banners.

Environmental charity Planet Aware has been given £500 to support its beach cleaning and nurdle removal programme.

Recycled plastic collected during its clean-up events has helped create the charity's 52-foot-long plastic seahorse, which has become a popular feature at several Island carnivals this summer.

Community organisation Pan Together has received £1,200 to expand its Tea, Talk and Togetherness sessions beyond Newport.

The initiative provides cream teas while helping staff identify Islanders who may need additional support.

Meanwhile, Isle Access has been awarded £4,300 to purchase a new Tomcat tricycle, enabling more disabled Islanders to take part in community events and activities throughout the summer.

The final grant of £500 has gone to Wight Eagles FC, the Island's only all-female football club.

Based at The Bay Academy in Sandown, the club will use the funding to buy equipment for its new under-8 and under-10 teams as it continues to grow.

WightAID raises money to support charities and community groups across the Isle of Wight, helping fund projects that make a difference to Islanders.