January Community Heroes
Each month, we're celebrating Community Heroes across Northamptonshire. These organisations are working tirelessly to improve the lives of our county's most vulnerable residents, and we're very proud to support them.
To read more about each Hero, take a look at our Community Hero of the Week column in the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, published every Thursday.
The Rural Community Larder at Woodford Halse
The Rural Community Larder in Woodford Halse, Daventry, supports around 1,700 visitors from 26 local villages each week.
Essentials like fruit, vegetables and bread are free to larder members, and a £5 spend will see visitors able to add £25 of shopping to their baskets.
Through Northamptonshire Community Foundation, the community larder received funding from the Friends of the Foundation Fund, which enabled large fridges and industrial freezers to be installed and used to prolong the life of the food on offer.
The Shack Food Project
Based in Kettering, non-profit The Shack Food Project was set up in 2020 to support local residents struggling with the cost of living.
At the end of 2023, The Shack ran their annual Christmas Appeal, providing 300 families, including 490 adults and 780 children, with a full and fresh Christmas dinner, toys and gifts. These provisions helped to alleviate the financial worries that come with the festive period and delivered Christmas joy to some of our county’s most vulnerable families.
The Shack’s Christmas parcels were put together using funding from the Constance Travis Endowment Fund for Northamptonshire via Northamptonshire Community Foundation.
Off the Streets NN
Off the Streets NN is working to eradicate knife crime across Northamptonshire.
The dedicated team have placed more than 200 critical bleed kits across the county, which are kept fully stocked and are replenished if used. Over 2,000 knives have been handed in using the 14 amnesty bins that Off the Streets NN have set up, and 608 people have been trained in life-saving bleed control techniques.
In November 2023, Off the Streets NN were nominated for the High Sheriff’s Initiative Award at Northamptonshire Community Foundation’s Annual Awards event.
Care & Repair Northamptonshire
Care and Repair Northamptonshire is a not-for-profit aiming to keep vulnerable local residents safe, warm and secure at home. Their dedicated team provide a range of practical services, from plumbing and DIY to making a building more secure or more accessible.
Last year, almost 4000 Northamptonshire residents benefitted from Care and Repair’s work, and the team have been supporting the county for more than 30 years.
Care and Repair Northamptonshire has been awarded funding from the St Giles Charitable Trust and Queen’s Institute Funds, via Northamptonshire Community Foundation.