Better Together receives almost £340K lottery funding to expand staff team

Better Together Community Support Group for Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme has received almost £340K in lottery funding to expand its team of staff. The registered charity, which has its headquarters in Trent Vale but operates across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle, has been given £338,000 over four years by the National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities England programme.

This funding has enabled the organisation to employ four much-needed additional staff members to develop and manage the vital support the charity offers. 

Over the last five years the charity has established four free playgroups in different locations throughout Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle, a book club, a male mental health support group, a women’s wellbeing group, a free weekly community café, a youth group, and a community garden in the summer months.

Better Together also runs a community fridge on Saturday mornings from 10am to 12pm at their HQ in Woodberry Close, Trent Vale, to provide free food and hygiene products for people in need, with no need for referrals or other documentation.

The charity now has six members of staff as well as founder and chief executive Bridge Allport, and a team of dedicated volunteers and supporters. New volunteers are always welcome.

Bridge said: “To receive the funding to expand our incredible team means so much. It enables us to provide much needed additional support within the communities throughout Stoke-on-Trent and surroundings.

“When I started this little community group five years ago, I never dreamed of becoming a charity and having employees. I cannot thank everyone involved enough for making the organisation to what it has become.”

The funding bid was backed by Staffordshire University senior lecturer Paul Dobson, who was Bridge’s tutor during her degree. He said: “Staffordshire Business School has a long history of supporting local charities and businesses start-up and scale. I helped Better Together start up over five years ago and I’m very proud of its achievements.

“They are a great example of volunteers helping the community in a range of increasingly needed support such as free play groups, community cafes and garden, mental health support groups plus other projects. This funding will help them develop further community support over four years, and includes funding for new members of staff to help develop their work.”

Better Together recently won the Breakthrough Award: Organisation at Voluntary Action Stoke-on-Trent’s Totally Stoked awards, in recognition of its ‘significant growth’.