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Liverpool ONE’s charitable foundation, the Liverpool ONE Foundation, has reached a milestone and its endowment is now worth £1m.
This is the first corporate endowment on Merseyside to reach over £1m. It was set up in 2005 during the development phases of Liverpool ONE and so has taken relatively few years to reach this record amount.
The Liverpool ONE Foundation helps the lives of local people in Merseyside, especially Liverpool, by providing support for good causes in and around the city. To date, the Liverpool ONE Foundation has funded 141 charities throughout Merseyside.
However, while the foundation provides money and pledges, over £150, 000 a year in grants to charities in Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral, the Liverpool ONE Team are also encouraged to donate their time and skills.
In 2010 the Liverpool ONE Foundation provided a £5,000 grant to The Brunswick Youth and Community Centre on Marsh Lane in Bootle to run an inter-generational community garden project. The money has created a space where visitors to the centre can plant flowers and plants as well as fruit and vegetables and provides a better understanding between older and younger members of the community.
Since 2010 the relationship has grown and the Liverpool ONE Foundation has recently renewed this partnership by selecting The Brunswick Community Centre as Liverpool ONE’s charity partner.
The charity partnership means that the Liverpool ONE Team will fundraise for The Brunswick and provide them with non-financial support. Team Members will volunteer to help with the Centre’s community garden, or provide advice on property management, HR or security. Some members of the Liverpool ONE Team may also get involved in working with the young people that use the centre.
Liverpool ONE chose The Brunswick Youth and Community Centre as its charity partner because of the work it does with young people and the community as well as its engagement programme that promotes employability and social cohesion. All these factors match Liverpool ONE’s Corporate Social Responsibility framework making it a perfect fit. As well as sharing a similar ethos, 10% of the Liverpool ONE Team come from Bootle and so strengthens the relationship.
Chris Bliss, Estate Director at Liverpool ONE said: “We are honoured to be working with The Brunswick Youth and Community Group over the next two years. The investment of time and money will provide a lasting legacy for the centre and we very much look forward to working more closely with the team at The Brunswick.“
Keith Lloyd, Manager of the Brunswick Youth and Community Centre said: “The local community and schools in particular have really got behind the idea of the garden. The support we have received and continue to receive from Liverpool ONE has been vital in bringing our vision for the community garden to life.
“The Brunny has been at the very heart of Bootle life for more than 60 years and we want to improve and strengthen its work and its facilities. By developing the garden we want to create a focal point for youngsters to come and learn about gardening, plant life and horticulture and find constructive fun things to do. The garden will also be a vital educational workshop facility for local schools. It will help us to achieve our crucial aim to develop and maintain community cohesion in this deprived area. Being appointed as Liverpool ONE’s charity partner will enable us to continue to develop the garden project to provide maximum benefit to the community. We look forward to working with Liverpool ONE as their charity partner during the next two years.”
The Brunswick Youth and Community Group is open to and used by all ages, from an After School club for 4 – 8 year olds to regular evening classes of sport, art, drama and computer studies for 11 – 18 year olds. The centre provides full time care during the summer holidays as well as embracing the whole community by running a weekly jobclub, and it is also now regularly used by a local pensioners' group.
The centre also runs an Outreach Project to engage with young people who might otherwise fall into anti-social behaviour. The project contacts an average 70 young people each week and offers a variety of diversionary activities. This provision has been recognised by the local police and councillors for achieving excellence in serving the community of Sefton.
