Bath Carnival, First Steps Bath and Sporting Family Change are among twelve community groups and charities benefitting from the B&NES Community Wellness Fund grant programme to improve mental health and loneliness across the area.

Virgin Care is responsible for the grant programme as part of its contract with Bath Council and the local NHS to bring health and care services together and improve outcomes by allowing local people to stay well and proactively look after their health. The grant programme funds a number of grants each year and is managed by Quartet Community Foundation, which runs the application and grant award process as well as tracking outcomes.

The programme is aimed at community groups and charities in Bath & North East Somerset targeting loneliness and isolation, and delivering projects promoting healthy lifestyles to enable local communities to tackle some of the causes of mental ill health.

Claire Wynne Hughes, Philanthropy Executive for B&NES at Quartet Community Foundation, said: “These twelve groups are great examples of the kind of small, local good causes Quartet supports in Bath & North East Somerset.

“Our Vital Signs research highlighted many of the health and wellbeing challenges faced in the area, including high levels of childhood obesity in Twerton and Radstock, so we’re so pleased these grants will support groups in their work to promote health and wellbeing in the area.”

Kirsty Mathews, Managing Director of Bath & North East Somerset Community Health and Care Services for Virgin Care, said: “We’re delighted to be able to fund local projects that we know will help improve mental and physical wellbeing and make a difference from the wide range of activities that these grants support.”

Roz Lambert, from First Steps Bath, said: “We are so grateful to Quartet and to Virgin for the Community Wellness fund support that has enabled additional children to access Rugby Tots at First Steps Twerton.

“You only have to see the children prepare for their session, you can feel their excitement and joy, to know that this early experience of outdoor exercise will set them up for life. We see tangible benefits, increase in confidence, physical and social skills, giving children, who may not access these types of opportunities, the very best start.”

Martin Coles, Secretary of Keynsham Walking Football Club, which also benefited from a grant through this funding stream, said: “At present we have up to seventy players aged over 55 coming along each week. This funding will help us pay for more goalposts and this will give us more pitch space, so we’ll be able to welcome more players. We are hoping to expand numbers to enable us to run an Over-70s team.”