The Mall's Fountain Charity Fund

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MALL'S FOUNTAIN CHARITY FUND

FIVE YEARS OF GIVING

The Mall at Cribbs Causeway's Fountain Charity Fund, established in March 2003, is celebrating five years of supporting local charities. We take a look at the Fountain Fund and some of the causes which have benefited from the money donated by shoppers.

The fountain at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway has had a magnetic appeal for children ever since the shopping centre opened just over 10 years ago. Kids of all ages are drawn by the hypnotic sound of the water as it shoots up into the atrium above before cascading downwards again.

And while they watch the water going through its acrobatic motions, the children throw coins of every shape and size into the water. And not just a few coins, we're talking large quantities of coins - enough to fill four large black domestic wheelie bins every month. That's £10,000 of coins every year!

So what happens to all this money that is so generously donated by Mall shoppers?

For the first five years of The Mall's life, local scout groups laboriously helped Mall staff empty the coins from the fountain, drying them, bagging them and then banking the proceeds to help pay for new equipment they needed. It was hard work and they earned every penny but the money enabled many local scout groups to fund new camping gear, fix broken down Scout huts and train new Scout leaders.

Giving grants

Five years ago in March 2003, The Mall established its Fountain Charity Fund to open up the money to a wider group of worthwhile organisations. And so Charity Number 1080418 was born, with the aim of supporting local charitable organisations within a 25 mile radius of The Mall.

Since then The Mall's Fountain Charity Fund has given 82 grants totalling £54,843. The charity is administered by the Quartet Community Foundation which manages and distributes charitable funds on behalf of individuals, companies and organisations in the West of England.

The Mall meets with Quartet once a year in March to review the grant applications. As the largest grant available is £1,000, they look for organisations where a small amount of money can make a big difference. This also means The Mall can help a larger number of organisations.

Deserving causes

Grants have gone to a wide variety of deserving causes to benefit the young and old, the disadvantaged, the disabled and the bereaved and those providing valuable community facilities and services.

One of the first grants given in 2003 was £1,000 to the No Way Trust. It funded a crime awareness activity day in local schools. It was a multi-agency high impact event designed to challenge young peoples' perceptions related to crime, consequences and imprisonment and provide them with a realistic experience that will enable most to go forward with their lives in a positive way.

In 2005 Ability Sports Association, a charity that provides professionally coached sports and active recreation for disabled and disadvantaged children and adults across the West of England, was awarded a £500 grant. It used the money to buy specialist portable sports equipment to deliver outreach sport and leisure activities for adults with disabilities around the region.

Last year Lawrence Weston Community Farm received £1,000 towards a new wooden cowshed for two rare breed Dexter cows while the Indigo Project used its £480 grant to fund a phone counselling service for young people at risk of self-harming.

Whether large or small, what all the grants have in common is that they help local voluntary organisations carry out vital community initiatives.

This year, The Mall's Fountain Fund has helped 17 local groups in Bristol and South Gloucestershire (see panel below). Representatives from the charities visited The Mall last week to receive their cheques from The Mall's Maria Crayton.

"We are always amazed and impressed by the huge variety of extremely worthwhile voluntary projects going on around us," says Maria. "It gives us enormous pleasure to support some of them through our Fountain Charity Fund.

"We must also thank our customers who continue to throw money into our fountain and provide the basis for our Fund - without their generosity, we couldn't support so many worthwhile causes."

Cedric Clapp of Quartet Community Foundation says: "The Fountain Fund is a wonderful example of how local people carrying out simple tasks like shopping can take part in helping local communities grow stronger. All your pennies, made into small grants, truly do make a huge difference to the lives of local people in need."

Collecting the Coins out of the Fountain

Once a month, on a Sunday evening after The Mall has closed, Chris Manning and his team set to work collecting the thousands of coins from the fountain. After draining the water from the fountain, they use heavy-duty wet vacuum cleaners to suck up the coins and transfer them into big black wheelie bins.

The next morning, the money is moved from the wheelie bins into a cement mixer - the largest suitable receptacle! - where it is descaled. By the Tuesday, Chris's team is laying out all the coins on large dust sheets to dry for up to a week before they are counted up into money bags ready for banking.

The Mall's Fountain Charity Fund 2010 Grant Recipients

We are delighted to offer grants to the following organisations:

Avon North Mencap will use its grant of £400 to provide new IT equipment for The Hive, a new drop-in centre for people with learning disabilities in Bristol and South Gloucestershire

Rangeworthy Pre-School Playgroup has been awarded £615 to provide an extending/retractable safety fence around the playground to encourage outdoor play.

The Travelling Light Theatre Company will apply its £400 grant towards production and rehearsal costs for a month-long Youth Theatre performance at the Arnolfini in July.

One 25, which reaches out to women trapped in street sex work in Bristol, received £500 to provide some of their beneficiaries and their children with the rare opportunity of a summer outing.

Avon Youth Association has been given £450 to develop a pilot of accredited ASDAN learning work with young people across Bristol.

BAND will use its £173 grant to buy a new range of books for its Resource Library that is used by member groups and schools.

Barton Hill Settlement received £500 to purchase specialist play equipment to enhance opportunities for play in Barton Hill and the surrounding area.

Downend Police & Community Amateur Boxing Club has been awarded a grant of £375 to replace its old gym punch bags. The bags take a battering three evenings a week and every Sunday and urgently need replacing.

Filton Camera Club will use its £300 grant to purchase a laptop so members can make full use of the Club's digital projector.

The Stroud Junior Group, part of Gloucestershire Young Carers, received a grant of £530 to help cover transport costs. For many young carers, especially those caring for adults, transport is a big issue.

Home-Start Bristol was awarded £420 to provide six Toy Kits which are offered to families facing difficulties. Each kit costs £70 and includes educational books and toys.

View Point Action Group will use its £350 grant to run a 10 week healthy eating project in Southmead, Bristol. The project encourages healthy food choices and teaches young people how to prepare different types of food.

The Mall's Fountain Charity Fund 2009 Grant Recipients

We are delighted to offer grants to the following organisations:

1st Bulwark Guides from Newport, South Wales which has received a grant for £315 to replace worn-out tents used on residential/outdoor activities.

4th Portishead Brownies & Rainbows, a new group in the Marina area of the town, applied for a grant to help purchase new play and sports equipment such as play parachutes, hoops and skipping ropes and balls and beanbags. They received £230.

Aust Village Hall Trust will use its grant of £938 to buy new tables and chairs for this well-used community facility.

Bristol Children's Playhouse in Eastville received £525 to replace toys at its drop-in centre. A wish-list of toys was put together by parents and children.

The Bristol Mother & Baby Project in South Bristol was awarded £998 to run Peer Early Education groups for parents and young children. The grant will be used to buy toys, waterplay equipment and arts and crafts materials.

Coniston Community Association, a social and educational group for young people with special needs in north Bristol, received £500 for resources including arts and crafts equipment, games, computer console and sports equipment.

The Rainbow Centre successfully applied for a grant of £403 to replace their failing dishwasher. This centre provides care and support for children and families affected by life-limiting illness.

Second Step Housing Association will use its grant of £415 within its Allotment Group to pay their rent, buy seeds, fruit bushes and manure and a poly-tunnel for growing salad crops.

The SWALLOW group in Midsomer Norton received a grant of £500 to run a drama group exploring issues such as human rights, loss, change and bullying.

The Yate Opportunity Group, which offers respite to parents of children with special needs, received £762 for flooring in its newly-refurbished parent's room.

The West of England Schools Sailing Association received £698 for new buoyancy aids for disadvantaged children who enjoy sailing in Bristol Docks.

Following consultation with local youngsters and residents, Our Place, based in Staple Hill, applied for a grant to provide more sporting activities and equipment. They received £750.

Crisis Centre Ministries, which works with homeless and vulnerable people and those with a history of addiction, requested a grant to cover its membership fee of FareShare, which distributes surplus food to charitable organisations. It received £900.

Avon Counselling & Psychotherapy Service received £1,044 towards counselling sessions for single parents.

The Mall's Fountain Charity Fund
2008 Grant Recipients

Cruse Bereavement Care will use its £1,000 grant to provide badly-needed new carpets for its Bristol city centre office. The charity supports 1,000 people each year with face to face counselling, telephone support, home visits and drop-in groups.

The Staple Hill Methodist Youth Project plans to use its grant to help towards the costs of running its spring/summer programme. The Y-Zone youth club, which started in 2006, provides a much-needed resource for local 11-17 year olds who benefit from learning new skills such as video-making and MCing.

Hartcliffe Health and Environment Action Group runs a weekly tutored gardening group for local people. The group has 10 regular members who, with the support of a tutor, have developed the confidence to grow a wide variety of fruit and vegetables which they take home to supplement their meals. The charity, which secured a £970 grant to cover the cost of the tutor, the hire of the land and facilities, seeds and compost, also runs cookery courses, an affordable food cooperative and children's activities.

A £998 grant went to the Hop Skip Jump Play and Support Centre in Kingswood. The charity runs a multi-sensory room to help develop and reassure children with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. The grant will allow the charity to buy a fibre-optic lilly and strands, one of several new features required for the room.

Locking Pre-School Playgroup near Weston Super Mare received £400 to erect a gate and fence outside its hall to provide a secure area for children to play outside.

The Centre for Deaf People in Bristol will use its £600 grant to fund days out and other outdoor activities for adults. It will also be used on educational materials to help them find work.

Congresbury Community Pre-School has successfully raised enough money to buy a new portakabin and will use its £200 grant to buy a rug for its reading corner.

The Four Towns Play Association in South Gloucestershire will use its £500 to buy new play equipment.

The Indigo Project which works with young people who self-harm has received a second grant of £480 to pay the contract for a mobile phone support service.

Kingswood Furniture Project received £210 for a new computer monitor and office blinds.

Little Stoke Youth Centre received £650 as a contribution towards essential equipment needed for its project to equip a recording studio.

Our Place, which works with disadvantaged people in the Staple Hill area of Bristol, requested funding for new board games and art materials for a day centre for 24 vulnerable older people. They received £200.

Project 97 received £750 for a new computer and printer.

Rainbow Tots in Easton, a new parent and toddler group, received £500 to provide new toys.

Tytherington Pre-School near Thornbury received £681 for a new book display unit and storage.

Yate Opportunity Group is a small community group offering five play sessions a week for young children with disabilities. They received £400 to buy new equipment for its newly-refurbished kitchen.