Grant funding sits under the Fundraising Department for Paul Sartori and ensures that the charity is able to maintain a good mixture of income to sustain the range of services that it provides in Pembrokeshire.
Funding is sought for a variety of projects and core funding. During 2022/2023, 17 donations were received from grant givers in the UK, 5 of these were sourced locally, with just over £34,000 secured for core running costs.
The mixture of projects were varied and included the purchase of specialist items of equipment including a high back chair (with drop arms), furniture raisers, knee pillows, video monitors and mattress infills. It even extended to new cupboards for our Equipment Store! We were also able to purchase fiddle muffs (with buttons and beads) which offer a tool to relieve restlessness and reduces stress especially for those living with dementia.
Projects also included the purchase of specialist and bespoke foot care packs for patients who are unable to access timely podiatry care. Funding was also secured for specialist training for our Counselling and Bereavement Service to enhance and better support clients with complex and traumatic grief. We have seen an increase an increase in major trauma, especially since COVID.
Additionally, support was received from local supermarkets Co-op (Neyland) and Blakemore/SPAR (Monkton, Pembroke) which ensured we were able to keep the costs low for our Volunteer Winter Party in January 2023. Funds from Dinas Community Council and Port of Milford Haven also enabled us to keep the costs down for plays that we ran during Dying Matters Week to encourage discussions about death, dying and grief.
A grant from the National Lottery Awards for All (with grateful thanks to all the Lottery Players!) also secured funding for the Paul Sartori Community Choir to continue until October 2023, which is going from strength to strength. For information on joining the choir – follow us on Facebook, or email Judith Williams, judith@paulsartori.org.
A host of grant givers and donors gave us money including The Oakdale Trust, The Albert Hunt Trust, The Sir Cliff Richard Charitable Trust, The Percy Bilton Charity, The February Foundation, National Lottery Awards for All, Sandra Charitable Trust, The Hospital Saturday Fund, The Peggy and Mollie Thomas Charitable Trust, Port of Milford Haven Community Fund, Milford Haven Town Council, Carling and Wetherspoon Community Fund (via Action Funder), Dinas Community Council and The Lord Merthyr Fund (via Community Foundation Wales). We are eternally grateful to all these funders.
Ongoing projects include the “Voices from the Community – Father Paul Sartori’s journey from priest to hospice care” funded from National Lottery Heritage Fund, linking the history of the charity to its namesake. Also funding was awarded in 2022 for 2 years from the Welsh Government National Bereavement Support Grant towards supporting complex adult anticipatory and bereavement counselling in Pembrokeshire.