Dr Jerome Booth the new Chair of UK Community Foundations visited OCF this afternoon with Chief Executive Fabian French. On his sixth day in the job, Jerome said he planned to visit all 46 Community Foundations across the UK.
OCF is working with experts in the Early Years Sector (as well as other areas), to build our understanding of what works to reduce disadvantage. The evidence indicates that prevention is more cost effective than later intervention, and we know that many of life’s challenges can be rooted in early childhood.
OCF recently commissioned a survey by YouGov on behalf of Oxford Homeless Movement to dig a little deeper and benchmark national and local attitudes to homelessness and rough sleeping.
Age Friendly Banbury has appointed a dedicated co-ordinator, Bee Myson, who will work with the local community to drive forward local priorities across a network of businesses, charities and volunteers.
The Eden Project Communities Big Lunch came to Banbury on a very sunny Saturday in late May. Lots of smaller community and street based lunches had already been held and by joining the Big Lunch they were able to scale up, create a bigger event and bring the whole town together.
Getting Court, an Oxford based charity that is funded by donations which are held and managed by OCF, are hosting an event on Tuesday 4th June at 5.30pm to focus on County Lines and Knife Crime in Oxfordshire. Two Oxford judges will give an insight into these two major areas of concern.
HRH the Duke of Sussex met the Thrive Teams, a charity working in Barton, the Leys and South Abingdon, at Barton Neighbourhood Centre as the final part of his visit to Oxford last week. Young people from the initiative took part in a building bridges game to demonstrate some of the work they do to create ‘the next generation of role models’.
A lack of affordable housing is one of Oxfordshire’s key issues, leading in part, to the problems of homelessness locally. A gift of property, used for social good, can have much more impact as a charity donation.
A campaign was launched by OCF in December 2018, offering to match any public donations to Oxford Poverty Action Trust (OxPAT) pound for pound until January. OxPAT is a local charity with a 20-year history of giving funding to the key charities helping homeless people in Oxford.
OCF awarded grants, totalling over £76,500 and supporting over 26,000 people, as part of a funding round aimed at combating loneliness and isolation in Oxfordshire.