Shrewsbury Town Foundation receives Community Foundation grant

Shrewsbury Town Foundation has received a grant from the Community Foundation for Staffordshire and Shropshire to support children in care and care leavers.

The award is part of the Community Foundation’s new £160,000 scheme designed to help care leavers across Shropshire build confidence, develop skills and access the right support at the right time.

The Community Foundation is based in Shrewsbury and is working with private philanthropists to enable it to extend its established Care Leavers Fund across Shropshire. This new investment will broaden access to tailored, place-based support for young people transitioning from care into independent living.

The grant to Shrewsbury Town Foundation means more than £80,000 has now been awarded to support care leavers over the past 18 months, with other grants going to organisations including Wellington YMCA and the Drivers Pathfinder project.

Shin Aujla, Shrewsbury Town Foundation Director, said: “We are pleased to have secured this funding from the Community Foundation. It will enhance the activities we deliver within Shropshire to support care leavers into employment or further education."

Shrewsbury Town Foundation will deliver the project in partnership with their existing partners, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Shropshire Council, helping care-experienced young people access practical support and pathways into training, work and community connection.

Leanne Macpherson, Head of Programmes at the Community Foundation for Staffordshire and Shropshire, said: “For more than ten years we’ve been supporting grassroots causes and those most in need across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin. Over the past few years alone we’ve been fortunate enough to award more than £4 million to community-led causes across the county, making a difference to the lives of people who need it most. We’re delighted that 97% of the funds we receive go straight out to frontline delivery, where they can have the greatest impact.”

Leigh Willott, Partnerships Officer at the Community Foundation, said: “Just last month we were part of a DCMS roundtable looking at the need for funding for young people, and care leavers in particular. Now, through the power of local giving and place-based philanthropy, we’re able to deliver direct benefit to the people who need it most. It’s about connecting those who want to give something back with the organisations best placed to create the change our communities need.”

The Shrewsbury Town Foundation project will operate throughout 2026.