YMCA Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire Community Foundation invited attendees across the districts of East Lindsey, Boston Borough and South Holland to the “GRASSroots Celebration” event. The events brought together over 130 successful recipients of the GRASSroots Funding to celebrate and share the fantastic developments they have made to their communities.

Attendee of the event, Evergreens Miniature Railway, were awarded with the GRASSroots funding as an aid to make their facility more inclusive. This required the provision of toilet facilities, the creation of hard surface paths, construction of a firm surface at the train unloading point and provision of a suitable carriage for wheelchairs. With help and support from YMCA Lincolnshire, Evergreen’s Miniature Railway were able to access GRASSroots funding and make their space more accessible as well as gaining more attraction on social media!

Other attendees of the event, which has previously been supported by YMCA Lincolnshire, included North Thoresby Community Orchard, Covenham Village Volunteers, Pinchbeck Village Hall and many more. Whilst all community groups all had different specific outcomes to achieve through the GRASSroots Funding, the similarity was that they all wanted to achieve these outcomes in aid of the community they were based in.

YMCA Lincolnshire thrived on the opportunity to host a unique opportunity for organisations to discuss with others how they are shaping the future of each community. With amazing support from host communities, YMCA Lincolnshire put together a successful network of events, held in the heart of those communities for which they serve, from a true cross-section of the county.

With an overwhelmingly positive overall review, we had some participants say the following: “I’ve never been involved in a project with funders where I’ve felt so supported and reassured than by today. With such a lovely group like YMCA Lincolnshire showing us what we can reach at the end of it”.

Community sprit was the theme of the events and the main reason participants went away smiling at the end of the day. By far the most common feedback received is that participants appreciated the opportunity to meet new people and discuss projects in a supportive atmosphere. Participants made it clear that more events like this would be a real benefit to local organisations and the communities they serve; with 95% telling us they would like to attend more events like the ones hosted by YMCA Lincolnshire.

For more information about this event or more like it, you can reach out to our communities team via email on: [email protected]