Selco Community Heroes
From March to August 2024, we selected 12 different organisations that benefit their local community to win £500 of building materials to use on a project or on a building. It could be a charity, a local scout group, a sports club or a community centre which hosts classes throughout the week. We welcomed entries from any organisation or charity which serves the community.
The 12 finalists are now going before a public vote for the chance to win £5,000 cash – what a way to finish the year for our overall Selco Community Heroes winner! The group that finishes in second spot in the public vote will also win £1,000!
Each of the 12 finalists have a short video below explaining their cause and what they'd do with the cash.
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The vote has now closed.
Our 12 finalists and their stories:
S.A.F.E Foundation
SAFE Foundation is one of the leading domestic abuse recovery organisations in Devon, offering a range of community-based programmes, including group and individual trauma recovery therapy for adults and children. Any prize money would be used to help create a safe space for survivors, helping to increase feelings of self-worth.
Feltham and Hounslow Sea Cadets
Feltham and Hounslow Sea Cadets is a nautical themed youth group which gives young people the opportunity to try new activities and to have fun. With 30 people on its books, the group is looking to improve its World War II building by revamping old boat sheds to allow engineering lessons to take place.
The Shed at the Pavilion
The Shed at the Pavilion is a new Men's Shed in Swansea with the goal of combatting loneliness. Members currently meet once a week but there are plans to expand the group and to hold a variety of sessions three times a week. The £5,000 would be put towards developing an outdoor work area at the group's home.
Pyramid
Pyramid is a Leeds charity that supports adults with learning disabilities or autism through the power of art. The group works with around 150 people a year, hosting many individual artists as well as running eight two-hour group sessions each week where members can express themselves by being creative.
Daily Bread Café
The Daily Bread Cafe - part of St Peter's Church in Hutton, Brentwood - offers companionship, debt advice, a popular food bank and activities. The project supports hundreds of people each week and Rev Lisa Whymark said £5,000 would allow the group to significantly improve the toilet facilities.
The Bridge (East Midlands)
The Bridge (East Midlands) delivers specialist housing related advice, support and assistance services to vulnerable people across Leicestershire and Rutland with the ultimate goal of preventing homelessness. Last year the charity supported more than 5,000 people and has plans to open a shop to allow clients to collect clothes donated by the community.
Memory Box Foundation
The Memory Box Foundation supports people living with dementia, poor mental health or in social isolation across Hampshire and Dorset. Its reminiscence loan box service sees old documents and photographs taken into care homes across the region. Leaders are now hoping to launch a new project to help adults with learning disabilities experience museums.
Fox Wood Special School
Fox Wood Special School in Warrington caters for four to 19-year-olds with learning difficulties, offering them meaningful and exciting opportunities to improve their day-to-day lives and mental health. The school is hoping to buy specialist play equipment, including a wheelchair swing and trampoline.
Thorns Collegiate Academy
Thorns Collegiate Academy in Dudley has a passion for teaching pupils about the great outdoors. The school is planning to build a large 4m x 6m outdoor classroom within its grounds, helping students to develop their physical and mental wellbeing, as well as offering invaluable opportunities for staff, families and the wider community.
Together As One
Together As One has a mission to provide opportunities for young people in Slough. Its offering includes support for young carers, a film club and a group for those with special educational needs and disabilities. Charity leaders are hoping to make its High Street base more accessible by building a ground-level toilet.
Contact Hostel
Contact Hostel in Manchester provides support and a safe home environment for teenage girls who are facing homelessness due to issues including abuse and forced marriage. The hostel can care for up to nine people at any one time and would use the £5,000 to help pay its team of support workers.
St Christopher's Hospice
St Christopher’s Hospice in London delivers vital end of life care services to over 6,000 people in the local community each year. Its inpatient unit offers 24/7 care and had 650 patients last year. The hospice is working hard to make its wards more dementia-friendly and less clinical with colour-coding, call alarms and improved lighting.