Home » About Us » Sheffield Homes News » September & October 2008 » The heat is on for Sheffield's Dragons
Community groups turned up the heat in the Dragons Den
Over £10,000 was up for grabs at a ‘Dragons Den’ style community funding competition at Sheffield Homes’ 2008 annual residents conference.
Over 200 tenants and residents in Sheffield attended the special event hosted by Sheffield Homes, as a thank you for helping to improve local neighbourhoods. The conference took place at Cutlers Hall, to reflect our proud Sheffield heritage.
Sheffield Homes’ Community Engagement team hosted the Dragons Den style funding competition. The ‘dragons’ included Dean Butterworth Sheffield Homes Assistant Director for Housing Management, Decent Homes partners, Wates Living Space, Keepmoat, Henry Boot Construction, Lovell Partnerships, Kier Sheffield and household waste management partner Veolia Sheffield Ltd. The total investment from the dragons impressively totalled over £10,000 with 9 Tenants and Residents Associations (TARAs) winning funding for their innovative projects.
One of the winning projects included the ‘Crafty Carders’ from Langsett and Walkley TARA. The group meets regularly to knit booties and bonnets for premature babies at Jessop’s Hospital, to help them keep warm during a vulnerable period of their young lives. The project also provides an opportunity for elderly residents to meet up, socialise and keep active by knitting.
Gina McLennon, Langsett and Walkley TARA, said, “I’m really pleased that the Lovell dragon (Dave Smith) gave our Crafty Carders project the full £300 to buy wool and other materials to support our work. The project is vital to our area, as it provides many of our elderly residents with their only opportunity to meet up and socialise. The group helps keep their minds and hands active through knitting and enjoying each others company. They all take real pride in helping premature babies to get the best start in life.”
The Upper Springs youth project also received £330 from Sheffield Homes, £400 from Henry Boot Construction and £790 from Kier Sheffield. The community group bring together young people and teaches them about community cohesion and conflict resolution through fun events and sessions.
Other winning community projects included Arbourthorne TARA’s ‘Console Kidz’ youth evening where young people can play computer games and learn basic life skills such as cooking, budgeting and time management. Margetson TARA received money to support them set up the Margetson Christmas Fair which promotes the use of the Margetson shopping area. The area is seen as a real hub for the community.
The conference also included a series of fun interactive workshops, free tours detailing the history of Cutlers Hall, prize giveaways, customer feedback sessions using an electronic handheld voting system and a chance for groups to showcase what they have done in their communities.
Sheffield Homes, the Company that manages approximately 42,000 council homes, ran the special “Your City, Your Communities, Your Choice” themed conference that brought together tenants and residents from across the City in celebration of being a ‘Sheffielder’.
Dean Butterworth, Sheffield Homes Assistant Director of Housing Management and Sheffield Homes’ dragon said, “The ‘Dragons Den’ style funding competition was a really innovative way of showcasing excellent community projects and raising funds at the same time. I was hugely impressed by the standard of entries and the quality of the pitches put forward. Over the next few months I can’t wait to see the impact the money will have on the community projects.”
Anybody interested in finding out more about the annual residents conference and other future events can call the Community Engagement team on 0114 273 5566, email getinvolved@sheffieldhomes.org.uk or visit www.sheffieldhomes.org.uk.