TeesstrHive receives £5000 Sirius Minerals Foundation windfall

A charity has received a cash windfall from mining bosses to help it continue providing services following the pandemic.

Redcar-based TeesstrHive has been awarded a £5000 grant from the Sirius Minerals Foundation.

Officials say the money will allow the organisation to expand its ‘Vagabonding’ sessions for youngsters, which include woodland walks and activities.

James Hopper, TeesstrHive director, said: “These sessions are fantastic as they get youngsters out of the house, off their phones and out and about in the woods or to the beach.

“The funding will help us buy things like waterproof clothes and equipment and radios, and help with admin and staffing costs too.

 

 

“Thank you to the Sirius Minerals Foundation for making a real difference.”

As well as TeesstrHive, mining officials say they have awarded grants to 36 organisations and charities of between £500 to £5000 to help post-COVID-19 activities.

The foundation is supported by Anglo American’s Woodsmith Mine, the huge fertiliser development straddling Teesside and North Yorkshire.

Anglo American – which took on the project from Sirius Minerals – has pledged to fund the foundation with £1 million a year while the mine is under construction.

Longer term, bosses say it will be funded by a percentage of mine revenue, which they say will total several million pounds a year.

Leah Swain, foundation chief executive, added: “It’s been a tough 18 months for so many people in our area and we are just glad we can contribute in a small way to the incredible work of the voluntary and community sector, which has done so much during the pandemic.”

The round of funding follows a previous tranche from the foundation’s COVID-19 recovery fund, which saw £350,000 handed to 33 charities in November 2020.