Funding Provides 35 Children with Beds

A £5,000 grant administered by Kent Community Foundation from the Albert Burns Charitable Trust Fund has enabled Thanet Iceberg Project to provide 35 beds for disadvantaged children who had previously been sleeping on the floor.

Thanet Iceberg Project applied to Kent Community Foundation for funding to help provide beds for low-income families in the Thanet area as part of their Loft Project and received a grant of £5,000 from the Albert Burns Children's Charitable Trust Fund.

Established in 2018, Thanet Iceberg Project helps individuals and households across Thanet to combat the causes of poverty whilst overcoming its symptoms. They run three projects, The Lounge, where the community can come together for a drink and a snack, The Loft, where pre-loved furniture and small household items are given to those who need them and Crossroads to offer advice, support and where needed, practical assistance.

Alexander Roarke, Chief Executive, Thanet Iceberg Project, said, “When we applied to Kent Community Foundation we were being inundated with heart-breaking requests for beds and bedding from families where the children were sleeping on the floor and often using coats as a mattress.

“Before applying for a grant, we spoke with a mattress manufacturer to negotiate a special discounted rate and we liaised with a carpentry company who agreed to help us to source and cut to size the wood needed to make the bed bases.

“Since we received the grant we have been able to provide beds for 35 children. One mum of two children said to us ‘I can’t believe that you would do this for us’ and when we delivered a bed to a child, they said to us ‘What? This is mine?’ before running around the room singing ‘I got my own bed; I got my own bed.’“

Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, commented “We know from the Kent Community Foundation Needs Analysis report, that Thanet has the highest number and proportion of children living in low-income families in the county. Couple that with data showing that Thanet residents have the lowest median weekly full-time earnings in the county, and it clearly demonstrates just how important to the community charities like Thanet Iceberg Project are. We commissioned the Needs Analysis report to ensure that funding is reaching the right people and it is clear that the £5,000 grant from the Albert Burns Children's Charitable Trust Fund was awarded to a charity supporting those with the greatest needs in the Thanet district."

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