A Cumbrian charity has been awarded £150,000 to make the county anti-racist.
Anti Racist Cumbria will use the three-year funding package to appoint a new worker.
Janett Walker, CEO and co-founder of Anti Racist Cumbria, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this funding from such a prestigious funder, it’s a real testament to our ethos and the quality of our work that national funders are supporting what we’re doing up here in Cumbria.
“I thank them for believing in our approach, our volunteers and staff for making it a reality and Cumbria for getting behind anti-racism.
“This funding is perfectly timed to enable us to step up to the next phase of our plan for an anti-racist county and to begin working in earnest with Cumbria’s young people, and subsequently all generations in our towns and rural communities.
“In places where there are little or no Black, Brown or racially minoritised people anti-racism can feel irrelevant, but in turbulent times such as we are facing that apathy can become a breeding ground for division.
“Thankfully anti-racism works regardless of the ethnic make-up of a space and we are really looking forward to getting out across Cumbria and supporting all our communities to understand and embrace anti-racism in ways that work for them.”
The grant marks the second of the year and the charity’s chair of trustees, Niall McNulty, said: “This funding represents a huge investment from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in working towards an anti-racist Cumbria.
“As a board we are proud of the work that the ARC team have been doing and this award enables us to expand that team and extend the reach of our organisation. We continue on the path to make a positive difference for Cumbria and the support from national organisations like the Paul Hamlyn trust goes a long way in recognising that we are heading in the right direction.”
