Recycling bicycles is just one of the many ways Irlam and Cadishead’s multi-million pound Hamilton Davies Trust charity is supporting the area during Covid.
The old, unused cycles are donated by residents, revamped by prison inmates and then given to children or others users, such as residents who need transport to get to work particularly during lockdown.
The trust has been awarding grants and supporting projects for the surrounding area since 2004 when it was set up by entrepreneur Neil McArthur as a way to give back to his local area.
The charity has since invested £10.8 million to support the local district, with more than £201,000 being granted to local projects across 2020/2021 according to the annual report. This includes a £60,000 grant to Manchester Tech Trust and £6,100 to the Rotary Club of Irlam.
Operations manager Tony Prescott said: “There’s no-one who knows Irlam and Cadishead better than Hamilton Davies Trust.
“I would say that we are a major hub in the area. I think we’re the go to organisation and the community comes to us and trusts us. We play a really big part in the regeneration of the area, supporting the community in terms of our grant process.
“I think that with out influence and trust that the council shows us, they tend to come to us for decisions around Irlam and Cadishead.”
The charity focuses its grants within the four focus aspects; community, such as the aforementioned grant to the Rotary Club of Irlam, education, such as a £4,500 grant to Irlam Primary School for playground improvements, recreation, such as a £1,000 grant to Irlam Tigers FC for pitch hire and regeneration, such as a £186 grant for shop signs along Liverpool Road.
The grant is considered by three trustees, with questions asked around longevity whether or not what the applicant wants to do will be beneficial for the locals.
Mr Prescott said: “We are a grant-giving charity and ultimately community groups come to us for grants in order to keep Irlam and Cadishead going and to improve their way of life.
“Myself and Allison Blackwell will go out to the community that has brought us the grant request and go ask them various questions to ensure what they’re doing will be beneficial.
“We might say well you know what with this little bit here we can then make it bigger and a collaborative working effort. I think that’s a big part of everything we do anyway.”
HDT, as it’s known locally, also provides support for local projects, with volunteers this week filling Liverpool Road’s Irlam and Cadishead stretch with poppies to remember those fallen in war.
Another project that HDT has rebooted is the Chains project, which provides school children as well as those in need with old bicycles, fixed by rehabilitated workers in the nearby prison.
Mr Prescott said: “They mentioned they looked to put bicycles that have obviously been made safe, then put back out to charity. We have a really good relationship there.
“We go to the community and we ask if there’s any old bicycles that they’ve got, can we have them, we send them to the prison and then ultimately they then come back and we distribute them out.”
HDT visited St. Marys Primary in Cadishead this morning to gift a bike to a child so he can complete a cycling proficiency class.
We eventually found one suitable for the boy and away he goes on his cycling lesson!
We are so happy to see the CHAINS project back up and running! pic.twitter.com/D1ICCD4W3t
— Hamilton Davies Trust (@HamiltonDavies) November 8, 2021
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Hamilton Davies Trust collaborated with the Jamie Horrocks Trust to yet again provide for the local community. Together, they gathered 60 volunteers to produce over 30,000 masks and visers for the NHS staff who were working at the time.
Tony said: “It felt like war time, the way people came together.
“It just shows that people around Irlam and Cadishead do support these things.”
As a charity, Hamilton Davies Trust is always looking for assistance in contributing to the local community, something Tony says the people of Salford can do by volunteering.
He said: “Volunteering, it’s a key thing for me, is the amount of people that wanted to volunteer. Whether that’s something little like litter picking, just getting involved.”
You can volunteer at the Hamilton Davies Trust by visiting their website or calling on 0161 222 4003.
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