CCF and Caledonia visit projects supported by the Caledonia Investments Fund

Amy Buzza-Blackwell, CCF’s Philanthropy Director, and CCF Trustees Jane Trahair and Gill PIpkin were recently joined by Chris Hodges, Trustee of the Caledonia Investments Charitable Foundation, to visit two projects supported by their fund.  

Caledonia Investments plc (‘Caledonia’) is a self-managed investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company was originally founded as a shipping business, and was developed by the Cayzer family, who have Cornish roots, into the world’s largest cargo carrying line before evolving into an investment business. CCF has been proud to partner with Caledonia Investments Charitable Foundation since 2021, continuing the historical connection between the company and Cornwall.  

Caledonia has invested over £250,000 into the county over the past 3 years. Most of this investment has been facilitated by CCF which oversees the Caledonia Investments Fund that seeks to address the challenges of financial education and debt advice across the county.  

In 2023, the Caledonia Investments Fund supported six new projects and continued supporting two ongoing projects across the county. These included West Cornwall Women’s Aid and Trelya who Caledonia visited together to understand more about their projects and the positive impact they are having on local communities. 

West Cornwall Women’s Aid, operating in Penwith, was awarded just under £30,000 over two years to support the appointment of a dedicated Financial Support Worker who helps women to manage and overcome money and debt issues.  

WCWA explained that ‘With support from the Financial Support Worker, women have been empowered to gain better understanding of finance, money issues and budgeting; this has supported women to become more confident when dealing with finance and money matters and, as a result, they have been able to begin to improve their situation, reduce anxiety and stress, and lead happier lives.’  

Trelya, also operating in Penwith, was awarded over £17,000 to support their Financial Empowerment work. Trelya is an award-winning charity working to improve mental health, wellbeing, and enable positive change in West Cornwall’s most under resourced communities. The grant is being used to embed financial education throughout the rganization, building on trusted 1 to 1 relationships and empowering people to make long-lasting change.  

Amy Buzza-Blackwell said: ‘It was wonderful to welcome Chris Hodges to Cornwall and hear together about the impact Caledonia’s funding has had on groups across the county. We are so grateful to the Caledonia team for their ongoing support for this issue which has such long-lasting and all-encompassing impacts on people’s lives.’  

Chris Hodges said: ‘It is a real privilege to be able to address some of the financial challenges faced by people across Cornwall. The professional approach and local insights of the leadership teams at WCWA and Trelya were inspiring and humbling in equal measure.  I came away in full confidence of our partnership with CCF means that our financial support goes directly to where it is needed most.’