Celebrating a new partnership with Carefree Cornwall

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) and Carefree Cornwall, Cornwall's leading charity dedicated to supporting young people in or leaving care. This collaboration marks the beginning of a three-year initiative, backed by a grant of £70,000 per year, aimed at transforming the lives of care leavers in our community.
"Carefree is thrilled to be working in partnership with Cornwall Community Foundation to ensure that care leavers in Cornwall get the best service possible. Care leavers are among the most disadvantaged young people in society, but Carefree's work over many years, often with the support of Cornwall Community Foundation, has shown that with the right support, care leavers can enter adulthood as positive, resilient young people, very capable of helping others as well as themselves." - Mari Eggins, Founding CEO, Carefree Cornwall
The transition to adulthood is particularly challenging for young people leaving care, who often lack the stability and support of a family environment. So CCLA, via the Local Authorities Mutual Investment Trust, has launched a national funding programme to aid care leavers.  The programme seeks to address these challenges by funding community foundations that work closely with local authorities and organisations to provide essential experiences and opportunities for care leavers.

In partnership with Carefree Cornwall, CCF has successfully secured £40,000 per year for three years from CCLA. This amount was then generously matched by the Sedel-Collings Foundation, bringing the total to £70,000 per year. On top of that, Carefree Cornwall's own Funds4Care fund will add an extra £10,000 a year for individual grants to care leavers.

Our goal for this programme is to support care leavers in Cornwall who are most at risk. This might be young people who are struggling to stay in education, employment, or training. It could be young parents who are not engaging with existing support, or those involved in or at risk of criminal activity, as well as young people who are facing homelessness.

Carefree Cornwall is a specialist organisation uniquely equipped to provide the intensive, long-term support these young people need. By partnering with them, we will be able to maximise the impact of this programme. Carefree Cornwall will be able to offer dedicated assistance to a smaller, targeted caseload, helping young care leavers navigate the challenges of transitioning to independent adult life.
"We are excited to embark on this journey with Carefree Cornwall and look forward to sharing updates on the positive impact this partnership will have on the lives of care leavers in our community" - Tamas Haydu, CEO, Cornwall Community Foundation
Please stay tuned for more information as we continue with this vital work. And for more information about other funding opportunities, head to our grants page.