Two months in

It’s been almost two months since Cambridge Solidarity Fund gave its first cash grant!

Since 8th October, we have:

  • disbursed a total of £2960 across 65 grants to 58 different people
  • sent 246 emails and received 281
  • walked, cycled and driven dozens of miles to deliver 31 cash grants
  • given amounts from £10 to £50 to people in all five of the postcode districts we cover
  • leafletted scores of houses seeking donations
  • exchanged countless messages to keep the Fund organised and running smoothly.

We set up the Fund because we knew there was a need for wealth redistribution in the city, but the last two months have made that need even more starkly clear to us. We never ask our recipients what the money they receive will be spent on, but in talking to people during the disbursal process, we’ve learnt some of them couldn’t otherwise keep their heating on, some needed money for clothes for their kids, and some needed to pay carers. We’ve handed out cash to rough sleepers who are living on the street between the grand old buildings of the immensely rich university colleges through the bitter winter weather. The inequality this exposes is shocking.

Until the root causes of poverty and wealth inequality are tackled, there will always be a need for support from those who, by some circumstance, are left struggling, and we trust people to know best how to help themselves with the money granted to them. We’re a small group of volunteers who run this fund to show solidarity to those in our community who need it, and to offer the chance to support those people to others who have the means to do so. To carry on doing what we do, we need contributions of money, but also time and effort, and we need to reach the people who could benefit from the collective.

So if you want to further our cause, donations are always welcome, as well as your support in administering the Fund, or just a mention of it to someone who might be interested. Here’s to many more months of Cambridge Solidarity Fund – we’re so excited to do more of what we do.