Ipswich fundraiser tackling poverty nears £1m milestone

Jim Manning said he had a very targeted approach to applying for grants

A volunteer fundraiser is on track to reach £1m to support one of Ipswich's poorest areas.

Jim Manning is a retired council manager who uses his skills to apply for grant funding.

The money helps the Whitton Youth Partnership and St Mary's church, which runs a warm space and a top-up shop.

Mr Manning said: "It's very much a team effort, but yes, it is incredibly rewarding to see the fruits of what you have managed to achieve."

Data from the Suffolk Observatory shows nearly 40% of people living in the Whitton and Whitehouse area are in the 20% most deprived in England.

Making a difference

"It feels as if the pots are getting smaller. There are more people in need. There are organisations looking for other ways to fund the work they do," Mr Manning said.

He won the fundraiser category at the BBC Radio Suffolk Make a Difference Awards in 2022.

"When I won the award I'd worked out I'd raised over £750,000. Now that's well over £900,000.

"It's a long, slow process, but I'm blessed that I'm able to help by knowing how to fill the forms in, and I think that's half the problem."

The weekly top-up shop uses some food passed on by supermarkets, but is mainly bought using donations

Sally Groom is a volunteer at the top-up-shop - one of 11 run by churches across Ipswich, where people pay £2 for a bag which they can fill with food laid out on the tables.

She said: "There's no criteria. There are no questions asked, anybody can come.

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"We have seen a lot of new faces. We're averaging about 50 every week now. Last year it was probably 35. The week before Christmas, we had something like 85."

Alongside the shop, the main church is opened as a warm space with tea and coffee

The church also pays for a specialist debt advisor to run sessions, alongside the winter warm space and coffee morning.

Reverend Mary Sokanovic, the priest in charge at St Mary's, said: "There is direct practical help here. If you've got a family to feed before your next pay cheque comes in, you can get bread, you can get cereal, you can get something to have for dinner.

"But there's also a role in stopping people feeling they're isolated, that no-one cares about them that they're on their own.

"I think more and more we're finding the lack of extended family is a real issue for people. It affects so many different things."

How to nominate

The Make a Difference Awards recognise and celebrate people who are going above and beyond to make a difference where they live.

Every BBC Local Radio station will host an awards ceremony in 2024.

The awards are a chance to say thank you and show recognition and appreciation for people who love to make life better for others.

Nominations can be made via the BBC Make a Difference website, where you can also see full terms and the privacy notice. Nominations will close on Sunday, 10 March 2024 at 23:00 GMT.