Funding supports North Ayrshire communities
Magnox and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have announced a £25,000 cash boost to help support vulnerable groups in North Ayrshire.
Volunteers from the North Ayrshire foodbank
The money has been granted to North Ayrshire Council to support the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
The council plans to invest the money into both North Ayrshire and Largs foodbanks towards food stock, PPE for volunteers and delivery costs.
The funding forms part of the 12 grants, worth £300,000 in total, Magnox has made available to local authorities or charities where a Magnox site is located.
Gwen Parry-Jones, Magnox Chief Executive, said:
Many community groups are carrying out positive work, supporting the most vulnerable in their areas. This work is vital, and a key part of Magnox’s response to COVID-19 is to help other organisations deal with the pandemic wherever we can.
In this time of national crisis, Magnox has agreed with the NDA that we should make available up to £25,000 at each site from the Magnox Socio-economic Scheme for use by local community groups on COVID-19 related activities. Magnox is committed to assisting the communities surrounding our sites, as our communities have supported us for over 50 years, and we hope this funding will go some way to supporting the essential work being delivered.
Councillor Louise McPhater, North Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “On behalf of everyone at North Ayrshire Council, I would like to whole-heartedly thank Magnox for their generous donation. “We have arrangements in place in every locality to ensure emergency community food provision is available – free of charge – for those who need it.
“This significant Magnox donation will go some way in ensuring that we have sufficient foodbank stock ready as we continue to keep our volunteers, foodbank and community hub staff safe as they continue to provide a lifeline service to some of the most vulnerable residents in our communities.
“I have seen first-hand the work carried out by the foodbank and their volunteers over the last few weeks who are doing such a fantastic job in very challenging circumstances and I can’t praise them highly enough.”