£500,000 of funding is now open to applications across the North West for the annual Windrush Day Celebration, an event which honours the lasting impact of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.
The Grant Scheme is overseen by the Windrush Day Advisory Panel, made of community representatives and which directly provides advice to the government.
The day comes during Black History Month and the fund will provide up to £25,000 to local councils, charities and community groups seeking to host events for Windrush Day 2020.
“The North West is a diverse region and has a thriving British Caribbean community whose valuable contribution to the everyday life in the region should be celebrated,” said Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick.
Last year, one group to receive funding was the Louise Da-Cocodia Education Trust, who are based in Manchester and developed the ‘Women of the Soil’ project, which ensures the voices of black women and girls of all ages are heard.
Additionally, the Trust was able to stage ‘Windrush Women – Backbone of the NHS’, a performance which paid tribute to the key role the women of Windrush in the development of the NHS.
Dr Diane Watt, Trustee of the Louise Da-Cocodia Education Trust, said: “The production was aimed at informing and inspiring younger women in particularly those of African-Caribbean heritage to not only empower themselves but also their community.”
The name ‘Windrush’ is in reference to the ship, the Empire Windrush, that carried 492 people from islands such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to the United Kingdom in 1948, due to post-war labour shortages. However, it also includes those from other former colonies.
In 2018, those part of the Windrush generation without documentation were told they had to provide evidence of their right to remain in the UK, despite many of them having spent their whole lives here.
To apply, download an application form from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2020-windrush-day-grant and return the completed form to [email protected]. Please include ‘Windrush Day Grant’ in the subject line.
