"You Decide" Folkestone West 2011 - Event Cancelled, but Grants made!

Good news and bad news on the scheduled Folkestone West & Sandgate "You Decide" day at Pent Valley School this Saturday, which has unfortunately had to be cancelled.

The "You Decide" days are designed to give the local community a say on which groups and organisations they want to see funded from the bids submitted. Running now for three years in Folkestone west, for this years event, there was £10,000 available, with up to £1,000 per bid. Unfortunately, at the close of applications for grants, there had been nine bids in total - meaning that every bid on the day would be successful.

The good news is therefore that every one of the nine submitted bids gets the £1,000 that they bid for - full details are below. obviously, the bad news is the event itself has been cancelled this time around - but it WILL be back next year!

The remaining £1,000 will be allocated to local project(s) by Tim Prater by the end of the year - the money will not be lost to Folkestone West!

Lib Dem County Councillor Tim Prater remains the only County Councillor in Shepway to open up decisions on Kent County Council Members Community Grants to local residents, having done so every year since first being elected in 2009.

If you would be interested in receiving application forms for 2012 "You Decide" days in advance, please email Tim Prater at tim@prater.org.uk with your Organisation Name and we'll make sure you get advance notification and forms as soon as dates for next year are set.

Successful Folkestone West "You Decide" Applications 2011:

Disabled Friends and Family Association - £1000

To contribute towards buying a vehicle which will be used to transport disabled people for days out, helping to improve their quality of life, giving them new experiences and allowing them to get mobile.

Shepway Autism Support Group - £1000

To launch a new library facility to enable families with Autism to access the library during the day time. Funding will be used to hold a family activity session at Kidz planet and Folkestone Sports Centre to support families and to share resources and raise the profile of the group.

Folkestone Dover Hythe Samaritans - £1000

To increase volunteers by 50 as part of the 50 years celebration, funding will be used for advertising, training costs and extra expenses/running costs incurred from longer opening times.

Folkestone Dover Hythe Samaritans - £1000

To create an area for volunteers to gather and relax between shifts which can be difficult and challenging. This will be at the rear of the centre in memory of one of the long time volunteers.

Catch 22 - £1000

To purchase equipment and resources and training to enable a group of young people to run their own social enterprise selling home made chocolate in Folkestone West/Sandgate area. This will help young people with experience of running their own company and provide valuable life and employment skills.

Cycle Shepway - £1,000

To purchase 25 dual use signage along the seafront from Folkestone through to Sandgate to Hythe.

FHODS - £1,000

To purchase and erect signage for the Tower Theatre and to erect and commission some lamp posts to improve the lighting in and out of the Tower Theatre and improve safety.

Folkestone Film Factory - £1,000

To provide a free open air film festival for the people of Shepway for a fourth year.

Pent Valley School - £1,000

To enable all the current year 7 to experience outdoor activities including campcraft, teambuilding, communication skills, outdoor awareness, educational visits. Some of the students will have financial difficulty to pay for this trip so we hope to be able to subsidise some students but also reduce the cost for the others so it is more affordable.