Shildon Church Projects Raises £3/4 Million for Community Transformation

St John’s Church’s Shildon Alive Project has been awarded a further £378,341 from the Big Lottery Fund for the transformation of the community of Shildon in County Durham bringing the total raised to £3/4 Million in just 5 years.

Shildon Alive, launched in 2012 by Revd Canon David Tomlinson, Priest in charge of St. John’s church in the town with the help of the Big Lottery Fund and local enthusiasm. A post-industrial community that has experienced a steady economic decline since the mid-1980s.

The Revd Canon David Tomlinson said: “Shildon is the kind of place that has a great sense of community but few opportunities. Shildon Alive was launched after a listening process that engaged with the town at multiple levels and saw the opening of the first two community gardens in 2011 and a Foodbank in 2013.”

Growth and awards, both local and national, followed as the outstanding nature of the work undertaken began to be recognised.

On December 3rd 2018 the Big Lottery announced that it will continue to fund the project with an additional grant of £378,341.00 spread over a four year period. This grant will not only ensure Shildon Alive continues to support the vulnerable, build community, and challenge injustice, it will allow the project to expand in new ways.

With a centre of food and finance solidarity to be opened early in 2019, Shildon Alive will be building on the experience of the last five years by continuing to enable local people to care for local people.

Canon David added: “Since our lauch we have drawn down around 3/4 (three-quarter) of a million pounds in grant funding to enable people in our town to volunteer, support each other and grow in skills and understanding. We have seen almost every school child in the town engaged with growing food, we have taken the lead in challenging loan sharks, loneliness and food waste. We have encouraged a culture of sharing, for example, running a ‘coats for all’ campaign, sharing good stories and teaching skills such as cookery.

“We might be in the bottom 5% economically but when it comes to looking out for each other we are in a different league altogether! The new food solidarity centre will enable us to continue the mission that Jesus began, one in which no person need go hungry, or cold, or be a prisoner to loneliness or addiction.”

In August this year Shildon Alive gave away its largest number of meals in one month with 1084 meals given to families struggling over the summer. Almost 10% of the town’s population used the Foodbank last year with many more using the food waste donated from supermarkets to supplement low wages or benefits.

Shildon Alive Project Coordinator, Paula Nelson said: “The latest grant is fantastic news as the work we have started is now secured for at least another 4 years.

The Big Lottery Fund in making the award said “[we are] ‘delighted’ in being able to continue to fund what is happening in Shildon.”

NOTES:

Shildon Alive works in collaboration with a range of community parties and specialist including:

• Faith in our Community (FIC)

• NE First Credit Union

• Shildon Town Council, The Area Action Partnership

• Durham County Council

St. John’s CofE Aided School

• Greenfield Community College

• Timothy Hackworth Primary School

• Thornhill Primary School

• Prince Bishop’s Primary School

• The Church Urban Fund

• Scotto Trust

• Seedbed Foundation.