Financial support worth more than £15m to help vulnerable residents has been approved by Nottinghamshire County Council during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In total, the council has green-lighted £15,710,641 for organisations, charities, households, and individuals via several funding streams since March 2020.

It means community-boosting projects across Nottinghamshire have been able to continue to provide a lifeline to residents most in need during the pandemic.

One charity to benefit was Mansfield-based The Peaceful Trust, which has thanked the council for its support.

The trust successfully secured a £1,000 grant from the county council’s Community Fund in April 2020 — just weeks after the first lockdown began.

The funding enabled the community support network to coordinate 20 volunteers, who helped vulnerable residents in Mansfield Woodhouse by picking up and delivering essentials, offering phone calls to those isolated, or even putting out wheelie bins.

It also enabled the project, led by the trust, to gain enough momentum to secure Lottery funding to continue with its community-boosting work.

Charlene Burton-Betts, of The Peaceful Trust, said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic we received much-needed funding from Nottinghamshire County Council to kickstart our prescription delivery group, which also worked tirelessly to do shopping for residents, as well as helping out in the community.

“The funding we received also helped us to secure Lottery funding, which meant we were able to keep our beautiful community centre open during that time and for us to continue with our project.

“We were able to deliver whatever was necessary in our community and that wouldn’t have been possible without the community grant from the county council, for which we are so thankful for.”

Funding overseen by the council has also enabled thousands of youngsters to receive free meals during school holidays and support low-income families who struggle to buy food, pay essential utility bills, or meet other essential living costs.

Money has been able to reach some of the hardest hit quickly following significant efforts with district and borough council partners to identify individuals, households, projects, and organisations needing support as part of a new system-wide approach.

The Communities Committee has given the go-ahead for the Covid-19 Social Recovery Fund (SRF) to get an additional £500,000 to build on the council’s continued support for communities throughout the pandemic.

Launched in June 2021, the SRF continues to provide much-needed support to charities and projects that offer a lifeline to residents in their communities.

The council is also continuing to ensure vulnerable children are not going hungry outside of term-time and, as part of its commitment to helping low-income households, free school meals were funded in the February half-term through the Household Support Fund (HSF).

It meant more than 25,000 eligible schoolchildren across Nottinghamshire received 125,000 meals, while voucher amounts were doubled to £30 per week, which included £15 to be used for food for a child and an additional £15 to help families meet winter cost-of-living increases, such as heating costs.

Council leader, Coun Ben Bradley MP, said the level of funding distributed to communities across the county during the pandemic highlighted the authority’s commitment to helping residents who are most in need.

He said: “I am extremely proud of the work we have carried out to help those who have needed, and continue to need, it the most.

“From distributing free school meals to vulnerable children to delivering grants to organisations that play a key role in supporting residents in their towns and villages, we have worked tirelessly with our partners to ensure the required support is in place to ease the pressures the pandemic has placed on households and individuals.

“I would like to thank our staff, officers, and my fellow councillors for working together in such challenging times to deliver a number of financial support packages that are helping to make a difference to people’s lives.”

Coun John Cottee, chairman of the Communities Committee that has played a significant role in approving funding handed out in the past two years, added: “There is some magnificent work being carried out by many fantastic charities and organisations across the county. They are the lifeblood of our towns and villages and have provided a vital lifeline to so many.

“I thank them for their tireless work and support they provide in their communities.”

For further information on how residents and community groups can access a range of grants and funding schemes, visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/financialsupport.