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YOUTH STEP -TO-SUCCESS (Y-STS)
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Crewe and Nantwich |
This project aims to provide immediate relief and long-term resilience to low-income households in East Cheshire/Crewe and its surrounding areas. The support includes food parcels, fuel/energy assistance, essentials, and critically financial support and advice. With rising living costs, many families are unable to afford necessities and are falling into debt or financial crisis. This program offers urgent help combined with proactive financial advice to stabilize households and improve long-term wellbeing. |
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St. Paul's Centre
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Crewe |
St Paul’s Hope & Essentials Outreach will deliver urgent food and hygiene support to vulnerable individuals and families across Crewe’s CW1 and CW2 postcode areas. |
Website: https://www.stpaulscentre.org.uk/
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Ruby's Fund
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Congleton |
Ruby’s Fund is seeking support to continue and grow its cost-of-living assistance for families across Cheshire East. The funding will sustain two key support strands and enable recruitment of a dedicated SEND worker. Strand 1 offers weekly appointments to help families in financial hardship access tailored support, including referrals, free activities, hot meals, and a warm, safe space. Strand 2 provides priority access to donations such as sensory room use, gifted tickets, seasonal items, and emergency e-vouchers for essentials. Families are identified through Ruby’s services and referrals from schools, health professionals, and community partners. The initiative aims to prevent crisis escalation and provide year-round, needs-based support with robust monitoring. |
Website: http://www.rubysfund.co.uk/
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Armed Forces Community HQ CIC
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Crewe |
Stronger Together is a community-led initiative supporting veterans, their families, and carers in Cheshire East through immediate relief, financial resilience, and long-term wellbeing. In partnership with local organisations, the project aims to establish a Veteran-Focused Warm & Welcome Hub in Crewe, offering hot meals, peer support, and access to mental health therapies. Veterans will benefit from weekly food and hygiene packs, budgeting and benefits advice, and practical skills workshops to promote independence and employment. The initiative also tackles digital exclusion through drop-in literacy sessions, helping isolated veterans access essential online services. Overall, Stronger Together provides a holistic support network to help the Armed Forces community rebuild and thrive. |
Tel: 01942821293
Website: https://armedforceshq.org.uk/
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Chance Changing Lives
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Crewe |
This service provides holistic support to vulnerable families referred by GPs, schools, social services, probation, and community partners. It offers access to quality food, budgeting and debt advice, cookery clubs for nutritious meal planning, and volunteer mentors for ongoing financial guidance. Families also receive referrals for housing essentials and access to wellbeing services including podiatry, optometry, NHS nurse practitioner, and breast clinics. Services are delivered from multiple sites, including a social supermarket and Saturday sessions at Jubilee House, which offer hot meals, clothing, toiletries, and health support. The programme reaches hard-to-engage groups and helps families build resilience. Support is tailored to individual needs, with no barriers to access, and aims to create lasting stability and confidence |
Website: www.chancechanginglives.org
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Disability Information Bureau
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Macclesfield |
The Warm Welcome Project provides safe,inclusive spaces for people with disabilities, those from deprived backgrounds, and individuals facing loneliness or isolation. Beyond offering warmth and comfort, the project delivers practical support including welfare advice, job search help, and mental health signposting. Visitors are welcomed with hot drinks and friendly faces, and can take part in social activities like crafts, games, and gentle exercise. Digital access and IT support help people stay connected and build skills. By combining warmth, nourishment, connection, and tailored assistance, the project aims to reduce isolation, boost confidence, and promote long-term wellbeing. |
E-mail: info@dibservices.co.uk
Tel: 01625501759
Website: https://www.dibservices.org.uk/
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Citizens Advice Cheshire North
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Macclesfield |
Citizens Advice Cheshire North (CACN) is seeking continuation funding for its part-time Advice & Advocacy service supporting clients with mental health challenges impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. Operating from Handforth Library and Wilmslow URC, the service offers specialist support with benefits, debt, and employment issues, delivered by an experienced adviser. CACN also supports clients at Hope Central’s food bank and pantry, with plans to expand as local need grows. The service has advised primarily on Personal Independence Payments and Attendance Allowance, helping clients gain financial stability. With strong community links and growing demand, CACN expects to support 110 clients annually, generating over £200,000 in financial gains for service users. |
Tel: 0808 223 1133
Website: www.citizensadvicece.org
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Cre8 Macclesfield
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Macclesfield |
Cre8 has operated a surplus food grocery for over five years and, with previous funding, successfully transformed its Tuesday grocery on the Moss Estate into a thriving community hub. The current project focuses on three priorities: strengthening the Moss Estate hub as a space for food access, social connection, and youth engagement, especially for post-16 NEET individuals; supporting the development of community-run groceries in Hurdsfield and Bollington by supplying surplus food and helping shape locally responsive models; and piloting a shared vehicle scheme with local food partners to improve surplus food collection and distribution across Macclesfield. This initiative aims to build long-term community resilience and a sustainable food infrastructure through collaboration and empowerment. |
Website: http://www.cre8macclesfield.org/
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Hope Central
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Handforth |
Hope Central’s grant will support its affordable Pantry and Food Bank, which provide both crisis and preventative aid to financially vulnerable households. The Food Bank offers emergency parcels (3 meals a day for 3 days per household member) and works with referral agencies to meet rising demand, while building relationships that encourage users to access longer-term support through the Pantry. The Pantry promotes dignity, choice, and independence, offering fresh produce, a welcoming café space, and signposting to wider services including Citizens Advice, health professionals, and social prescribers. A key milestone is increasing Pantry membership to 100 and trialling two free Pantry visits for Food Bank users to reduce long-term reliance and improve financial stability |
E-mail: info@hopecentral.org.uk Tel: 01625 724 133 Website: https://hopecentral.org.uk/
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Age UK Cheshire
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All of Cheshire East |
This project expands a vital Information & Advice (I&A) service supporting older people in Cheshire East, many of whom are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and missing out on unclaimed benefits. Operating via phone and limited in-person sessions, the service helps clients access Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, and related support like housing and energy discounts. In the past year, it handled 2,481 enquiries and uncovered over £725,000 in missed benefits. With funding, the service will increase capacity by extending triage hours, expanding face-to-face support in high-need areas, and embedding energy advice into every benefits check. The project targets older people who are digitally excluded, socially isolated, and overwhelmed by complex systems, aiming to improve financial stability and wellbeing across Cheshire East. |
E-mail: admin@ageukcheshire.org.uk
Tel: 01606 305000
Website: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/cheshire/
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South Cheshire Clasp
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Crewe |
This project provides early, preventative support to lone parent families in Crewe, helping them build resilience and reduce crisis through emotional and practical 1:1 support, weekly peer groups, and the “Taking Steps” personal development initiative. Families receive help managing urgent needs, improving financial stability, and accessing entitlements. Peer groups offer connection, informal learning, and signposting, while themed workshops focus on budgeting, stress, parenting, and self-advocacy. Structured goal setting and regular evaluations track progress. The project aims to move families from surviving to thriving, strengthening both individual confidence and community networks for long-term resilience. |
E-mail: info@southcheshireclasp.org.uk
Tel: 01270250629
Website: https://southcheshireclasp.org.uk/
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Groundwork Cheshire, Lancashire & Merseyside
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All of Cheshire East |
This project expands the Green Doctor service across Cheshire East to support fuel-poor households with tailored energy advice and practical help. Support is delivered through home visits, phone calls, and community drop-ins, covering energy use reviews, tariff switching, debt support, heating and smart meter guidance, damp and mould advice, and access to grants for home improvements. Households may also receive free energy-saving items, emergency fuel and supermarket vouchers, and winter warm packs. The service works closely with partners to provide referrals for wider needs such as benefits, debt, housing, and food support, helping residents stay warm, well, and financially stable during the cost-of-living crisis. |
E-mail: greendoctor@groundwork.org.uk
Tel: 0121 236 8565
Website: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/greendoctor/
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The Pantry@Sandbach Hub
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Sandbach, Middlewich, Alsager, Scholar Green, Haslington |
This project strengthens the Pantry’s role in supporting people during the cost-of-living crisis by increasing awareness through social media, local networks, and referral agencies, and improving the shopping experience with more fresh food and hygiene products. It aims to grow membership, reduce food insecurity, and offer a warm, welcoming space to combat loneliness. Users will benefit from drop-in sessions with external organisations, recipe cards for healthy eating, and events promoting financial, social, and mental wellbeing. Key milestones include 50 new referrals, 2,000 additional visits, 5 new volunteers, increased donations, and maintaining a 5-star hygiene rating. |
Website: https://sandbachpantry.org.uk/
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Wesley Place Methodist Church
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Sandbach, Middlewich, Alsager, Scholar Green, Haslington |
This project provides nutritious hot meals once a week in Alsager, served in a welcoming church hall by volunteers who tailor menus to attendees’ needs and preferences. Promoted through schools, GPs, social media, and community groups, the initiative supports both local and rural families. Alongside meals, the Hub offers a safe space for socialising, access to support agencies, and early intervention from a skilled Pastoral Team to prevent crisis. The Hub is especially valued by families with children with special needs and those from the deprived Radway Estate, offering trusted, multi-disciplinary support and connection. |
Website: https://www.wesley-place.org.uk/
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Citizens Advice Cheshire East
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Crewe |
This project aims to expand the Access to Benefits and Support Services initiative beyond Crewe to Congleton, Alsager, Sandbach, Middlewich, and Holmes Chapel, addressing growing demand due to upcoming welfare reforms. It will build capacity within Citizens Advice Cheshire East and other VCFSE organisations by recruiting and training volunteer “Form Fillers” to help residents complete benefit applications and access support services. Led by a Development Worker, the project will deliver training, promote collaboration across care communities, and monitor progress through regular evaluation, ultimately improving financial wellbeing and resilience across Cheshire East. |
Website: http://www.citizensadvicece.org/
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Hope in North East Cheshire
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Macclesfield |
This project will purchase fridge and freezer storage to support seven local food schemes, especially during peak periods like Christmas when surplus food donations increase. The equipment will be shared across sites, requiring additional volunteer time and management to collect, store, and redistribute food efficiently. This will improve food preservation, reduce waste, and enhance the capacity of local schemes to meet growing demand. |
Website: hinec.org.uk
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YMCA Cheshire
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Crewe |
This project will run a weekly listening and signposting service from the Sherborne Community Hub in Crewe, supporting up to four people each week. A volunteer listener will offer friendly conversation to reduce isolation and provide printed information to connect attendees with relevant local services. Held in a private room with access to wider social activities, the service aims to improve mental health, wellbeing, and life chances through early, informal support. |
E-mail: info@ymcacheshire.org.uk
Tel: 01270257637
Website: https://ymcacheshire.org.uk/
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ONE Project Macclesfield
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Macclesfield |
OPM aims to expand its food support by offering more fresh, frozen, and dry goods, along with hygiene and personal care items. Prepared meals will be available in-store—free for those in need or for a small donation. To support this, the project will purchase air-conditioning units to maintain safe food storage temperatures and a larger freezer to store and distribute prepared meals, helping reduce financial pressure for people from all backgrounds. |
E-mail: oneprojectmacc@gmail.com
Website:The One Project
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Silklife Church
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Macclesfield |
Silklife provides emergency food parcels via referrals from over 60 agencies, limiting clients to two consecutive referrals followed by a three-month break to prevent dependency. Parcels include meal planners and are nutritionally reviewed by NHS dietitians. Specialised packs are available (e.g. vegan, gluten-free, homeless), all including toiletries, with free delivery and culturally appropriate food for migrants. The Community Hub Café runs weekly, offering hot meals and support to adults including homeless and refugee clients, with professionals on-site for advice. Additional services include a Nappy Bank (no referral needed), Flo-Bags for free feminine hygiene products, and partnerships with other organisations to offer holistic support. |
Website: http://www.silklife.co.uk/
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The Upton Youth and Community Project
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Macclesfield |
The Pantry on the Upton Estate in Macclesfield offers more than food—it builds community. Each week, a free café runs before the Pantry opens, encouraging social interaction and access to services like Citizens Advice, employment support, and IT training. The Pantry provides subsidised healthy food, hygiene and baby supplies, and caters to vulnerable groups including refugees, single parents, and the homeless. Membership is free and based on postcode and need. For £3.50, members access the café and shop in a calm, welcoming environment. Additional support includes advice services, a free book library, and group activities, helping reduce isolation and improve wellbeing. |
Web: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-CORE-Pantry-61551746876141/
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Cheshire African Initiative Development
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Crewe |
This project provides a safe, supportive space for families and individuals facing the cost-of-living crisis, offering twice-weekly workshops over 16 weeks. Sessions cover budgeting, money management, mental health, and job-seeking skills, aiming to support 30–40 people weekly. A small food bank and essential item distribution help meet immediate needs, while the workshops build financial resilience, emotional wellbeing, and social connections. The program strengthens local support networks and improves employability, empowering participants to better manage rising living costs through tailored, holistic support. |
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