16 to 25 September is Global Goals week, an annual week of action, awareness, and accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 Goals stem from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a historic global agreement between the countries of the United Nations to eradicate extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and leave no one behind.
Hertfordshire Community Foundation recognises that small, hyper-local organisations are often in the best position to combat the global challenges outlined in the Goals. By addressing themes such as food poverty and social wellbeing, as well as providing a sustainable source of financing and infrastructure to grassroots community-led solutions we are helping local people find solutions to local problems, make sustainable change within their communities and contributing to addressing global challenges.
In addition to our 8 themes highlighted in our Hertfordshire Matters Report, we have adopted six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that best align to our typical grant making activity. These Goals are: Zero poverty; Zero hunger; Good health and well-being; Quality education, Reduced inequalities and Climate action. We are incorporating these SDG’s into our internal processes so that we can better understand and celebrate the contribution we are making and that of the wider VCSE sector across Hertfordshire, against the goals.
Examples of how recent grant funding are addressing the goals are:
- Haven First - £5,000 for cooked weekend meals for residents of their Baldock hostel over winter (Goal 2: Zero hunger)
- Borehamwood Foodbank: £5,000 to provide school uniform to families using the foodbank (Goal 1: No poverty)
- Citizens Advice Welwyn Hatfield: £5,000 to fund a specialist housing adviser (Goal 2: Zero poverty)
- The Crescent Support Group: £5,000 to support people living with HIV as they recover from the effects of the pandemic (Goal 3: Good health and well-being)
- Ngorli CIC: £4,985 for a summer tuition catch-up programme for young people primarily from minority ethnic backgrounds in Watford and Hemel Hempstead (Goal 4: Quality education)
- Watford Sheltered Workshop: £5,000 for an employment scheme for people with disabilities (Goal 10: Reduced inequalities)
- The Secret Space: £4,955 to provide therapeutic yoga for people recovering from illness, mental health issues and substance misuse (Goal 3: Good health and well-being)
- Liberty Tearooms and Community Hub: £5,000 to run their debt advice clinic in Hemel Hempstead (Goal 1: No poverty)
- Future Living Hertford - £4,800 to provide one to one counselling to people with mental health problems in Hoddesdon (Goal 3: Good health and well-being)
- Herts Young Leaders - £5,000 to provide youth club activities for young people in receipt of free school meals in St Albans (Goal 10: Reduced inequalities)
- Friends of the Rib & Quin: £991 to purchase equipment and reagents to monitor invertebrate life in Hertfordshire chalk streams (Goal 13: Climate action)
Community foundations across the UK are embracing the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to not only complement our grantmaking activity, but to support our operational culture. We are committed to a sustainable future and are working hard to achieve this within our organisation and beyond.