Cornish Lithium awards grants to more community groups across Cornwall

Cornish Lithium has awarded £17,310 to 11 local organisations through its Summer 2024 Community Fund. Cornish Lithium uses innovative and sustainable processes to extract lithium from geothermal waters and hard rock in Cornwall. The Company aims to support the UK’s transition to renewable energy by producing a secure domestic supply of lithium, which is critically important to the manufacturing of electric vehicles, grid scale electricity storage and the rechargeable electronic devices on which many of us rely.

Cornish Lithium has awarded £17,310 to 11 local organisations through its Summer 2024 Community Fund.

Cornish Lithium uses innovative and sustainable processes to extract lithium from geothermal waters and hard rock in Cornwall. The Company aims to support the UK’s transition to renewable energy by producing a secure domestic supply of lithium, which is critically important to the manufacturing of electric vehicles, grid scale electricity storage and the rechargeable electronic devices on which many of us rely.

Established in collaboration with the Cornwall Community Foundation, the Cornish Lithium Community Fund supports the work of clubs, charities and activity groups who seek to make a positive difference in the areas where the Company’s projects are located.  

Each summer and autumn, Cornish Lithium encourages applications from projects that will enhance skills and education, upgrade social welfare facilities, support industrial heritage and mining history, improve environmental impacts or promote health and wellbeing.

The successful recipients of the Summer 2024 Cornish Lithium Community Fund awards are:

• ClayTAWC
• Crofthandy Village Hall
• Georgia’s Voice
• Imerys Bowling Club
• Imerys Singers
• MHA Communities Cornwall
• Mount Hawke Youth Group
• St Day Old Church CIC
• St Day Youth & Sports Association
• Sunrise Cornwall
• Porthtowan Surf Life-Saving Club.

ClayTAWC is a vibrant and inclusive hub in St Dennis that plays a vital role in uniting its community through a diverse range of recreational clubs, educational courses and workshops, and social groups. It will utilise the grant it has received to take on the production of the area’s monthly magazine and update it to attract a wider audience.

Crofthandy Village Hall provides an accessible venue for community events, recreational activities and local support groups. With so many varying uses of its single main room, storage space is limited. This funding will enable the Hall Committee to build a secure container to accommodate equipment and materials.

Georgia’s Voice works to prevent suicide among young women in Cornwall, who are aged between 18 and 25. This charity is opening a new hub in Barncoose near Redruth where it will provide drop-in sessions run by qualified peer support workers; wellbeing activities to promote good mental health, and life skills workshops to support independent living.  It will use its award to contribute to the cost of these drop-in sessions during the hub’s first year of operation.

Imerys Bowling Club, based in Bugle, has one of the best bowling greens in Cornwall but the Club needs a Supaturf Even Sprayer to keep it in tip-top condition and edging clippers to keep its borders under control. This grant will fund the purchase of these items, which will ensure that the highest standards are maintained and improve play.

Imerys Singers is a ladies’ choir from the St Stephen-in-Brannel area of China Clay country that performs in retirement homes and hospices, at memory clinics and in social clubs, and raises money for charitable causes. This funding will be used to purchase music, hire a rehearsal room and secure the services of a musical director as well as an accompanist.

MHA (Methodist Homes) Communities Cornwall supports older people to live later life well and runs friendship groups across Cornwall to reduce loneliness and social isolation. With this funding, MHA’s Community Coordinator will be able to run a new group in the Tolgus area and arrange room hire, refreshments and publicity during its first twelve months.

Mount Hawke Youth Group seeks to update the café, lounge and social areas of the Mount Hawke Skatepark, which is the largest facility for skateboarding in the south west and hosts a number of nationally-recognised events and championships. The charitable organisation that manages the Skatepark will use this award to upgrade carpets and flooring to provide a more attractive environment for rest and social interaction.

St Day Old Church is a valued community amenity for exhibitions, the performing arts and education that plays an important role in the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site bestowed by UNESCO IN 2006. As a historic building without a roof, it requires improvements to its structure and facilities in order to attract larger audiences, secure more income and achieve financial sustainability. This grant will be used to conserve the doors and floors that are vulnerable to weather conditions, and install stage lighting.

St Day Youth & Sports Association is creating a climate- and eco-friendly building for use by the local community. It will use this funding to contribute to the cost of installing solar panels, high quality storage batteries, a rainwater harvester and electric car charging points.

Sunrise Cornwall aims to reduce the devastating ripple effect of loss through suicide by providing those affected with free, safe and supportive events, workshops and activities, based on music, art and wellbeing. This grant will enable it to offer such events in Chacewater, St Day, Carharrack, St Agnes and Redruth.

Porthtowan Surf Life-Saving Club will invest its award in the purchase of a new community inshore rescue boat and training for young adults to facilitate out-of-hours patrols and first aid cover at Porthtowan beach between the hours of 6pm and 8.30pm throughout the summer season.

“As a Cornish company, we are proud to support organisations that benefit communities in the vicinity of our projects,” explains Founder, CEO and Interim Chairman of Cornish Lithium, Jeremy Wrathall. “As the footprint of our operations in Cornwall expands, the Cornish Lithium Community Fund for local groups increases. This aligns with our proactive approach to protecting, enhancing and supporting Cornwall through social and environmental initiatives as we contribute to a secure domestic supply of lithium, reduce our reliance on imports and support the UK’s transition to electric vehicles and Net Zero targets.”

Tamara Sherston-Baker, Development Director of the Cornwall Community Fund added: "It is immensely rewarding to work with a Cornish company that places such value on people and place, and strives to benefit as many neighbouring communities as possible by supporting a growing number of distinctive projects.”

If your community group seeks funding, find out more about which parishes are eligible and how we can help by visiting www.cornwallcommunityfoundation.com/introduction-to-grants/ 

Applications to the Cornish Lithium Community Fund can be made through the Cornwall Community Foundation portal.

The Autumn 2024 Cornish Lithium Community Fund opens on Monday 19th August and the application deadline is Thursday 10th October. A panel will then meet in November to review the applications that have been submitted so that awards can be granted before the end of the year.