News

With pride month over and festivities in the capital coming to an end, we look to the charities supporting LGBTQIA+ communities all year round. Here’s a celebration of some of our funded organisations making the UK a prouder and more tolerant place.

Split Banana

Relationship, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is often seen by young people as non-inclusive and irrelevant. Split Banana offers a bold new, LGBTQ+ inclusive approach. Their workshops, community consultations and teacher training puts young people first. They’re helping them to build better relationships with their minds, their bodies and each other.

Split Banana is primed to launch a new way of working with schools. With The Fore’s funding received this year, they will have the resources to deliver holistic support packages with targeted support. This will maximise efficiency and, importantly, increase their impact on the ground for young people.

Pride Action North

Pride Action North serves the local LGBTQIA+ community in Northumberland and across Tyneside. With over 60 counsellors and six youth clubs, they support people in the region and help them find community. Northumberland signpost services for sexual, mental, and physical wellness and sexual and domestic abuse. Our 2021 grant helped to fund additional staff so it could expand the vital services it offers across the North East.

Safe Soulmates

Safe Soulmates aims to end loneliness for adults with additional needs including learning disabilities, autism, anxiety, and other health conditions that make finding friendships and relationships difficult.

Its membership-based service provides in-person and Zoom social events, chaperoning for friendship/date matches and guidance for members on building safe and healthy relationships. They are using The Fore’s grant to fund a new Volunteer Coordinator role, enabling them to expand their volunteer team who are carefully selected, vetted and trained. Safe Soulmates also works with consent and healthy relationships charities, and reach out to members in the queer and trans communities.

Spring into Action

Spring into Action is a community interest company based in Accrington in East Lancashire. Set up in 2012, they have a vision of an inclusive society where people with learning disabilities can fully participate. They aim to raise awareness of the ability of people in the broader community and raise aspirations of people with disabilities to achieve more.

From free LGBTQ+ support groups to volunteering and employment, they provide opportunities for people with learning disabilities of all sexualities. Spring In Acton also trains other organisations. In 2021 we provided a grant to help fund a Business Development & Training Coordinator.

Comics Youth

Comics Youth was founded in 2015 and is a creative community organisation led by young people, for young people. They aim to empower youth across Merseyside to flourish from the margins of society. We supported them with a grant in 2021 to launch a unique publishing house magazine, Marginal, to showcase the work of its young artists.

You can get involved in helping our charities, and the communities they serve, to thrive. Sign up to receive a fortnightly email update with our latest volunteering opportunities. Get in touch at [email protected] to learn more about funding our work.