Bath Half Marathon Fund Opens for Grant Applications

The Bath Half Marathon Fund is now open for applications from local charities, community groups and sports clubs which are based in Bath & North East Somerset and help local residents who are isolated or facing disadvantages, to play, stay fit and improve their health. The Fund typically awards grants of up to £2,000 and the deadline for applications is 29 June 2017.

Every year donations from runners entering the Bath Half Marathon are added to the fund and awarded to sports, exercise and play projects organised by community groups within Bath & North East Somerset aimed at improving physical health and wellbeing close to people’s homes. Over the last fourteen years the Bath Half Marathon Fund has awarded £173,000 to 160 local projects

Race organisers, Andrew and Mel Taylor from Running High Events said, “We started the fund with Quartet Community Foundation in 2003 as we wanted to support local charitable groups which are too small to benefit through our official race charity scheme, or through our volunteering programme. We called the Fund the Bath Half Marathon Fund which now stands as an endowment of £195,000 as a permanent source of future funding for local community groups. Quartet puts us directly in touch with these groups, where relatively small grants can make a big difference. We are grateful for runners’ generous donations to support this work with smaller local community groups.”

Claire Wynne Hughes, Philanthropy Executive for Bath & NES at Quartet Community Foundation said “The grants awarded through the Bath Half Marathon Fund grant programme are often small grants, which make such a massive difference to the work of local community groups and charities, and which help residents based in Bath & North East Somerset to play, stay fit and improve their health and wellbeing.  She went on to say, “Accessibility is key; we aim to support projects that find ways to bring people – old and young – into sporting and play activities, especially those living in rural areas or those facing isolation.”

Last year the Bath Half Marathon Fund awarded a grant to Wansdyke Play Association to provide open access play sessions in Writhlington, offering children  access to a variety of sports and active play sessions. Not only did the sessions promote safe, healthy play but they also encouraged social interaction and the development of relationships within the local community.

A grant was awarded last year to Sporting Family Change Foundation, an organisation which enables local families to come together and improve their physical health and well- being through fun sporting activities. The grant enabled them to provide a series of sports sessions tailor made to the interests of a group of local families including survivors of Domestic Abuse and their children. The sessions involved cycling, dance and low level fitness for the Mums and team sports, such as structured ball games for the whole family. As a result of the dance sessions the Mums participated in an Irish dance performance at a Bath Christmas Fair in Twerton.

For full details of the Fund and to apply for a grant visit http://quartetcf.org.uk/grant-programmes/bath-half-marathon, call Quartet Community Foundation on 0117 989 7700 or email [email protected]

For information on the Vitality Bath Half Marathon see the event website at www.bathhalf.co.uk