Our Impact

Investing in communities

We make communities greener, healthier and safer by bringing people together and giving them the tools to bring about change in their local area.

Colin’s Grow Speke story

Case Study

“I was at Hillsborough on the day that 96 football fans lost their lives. This event, was soon followed by bereavements in my immediate family. This had a huge and sudden impact on my mental health and I started to suffer from severe anxiety. I soon became unable to work and as the months went on I struggled to get back to full-time employment.

Groundwork’s Grow Speke project has improved my self-esteem, given me a sense of purpose and a chance to spend time outdoors doing something I love. I know that my fellow volunteers feel the same.” – Colin

Tesco Communities Fund

Case Study

“We’ve seen how small amounts of money distributed quickly can play a vital role in ensuring local projects thrive and continue to support those who are most vulnerable in the most challenging of times.” – Graham Duxbury, Groundwork CEO

The COVID-19 Communities Fund was created for Tesco to get emergency funding to community groups quickly so that they could continue to support local people through lockdown. Between April and September 2020 a total of £4 million was awarded to 8,000 community groups to respond to rising demand and adapt their services quickly.

Helping people into employment and education

We increase the confidence, skills, wellbeing and employability of people who are out of work or struggling in education.

Supporting veterans into employment

Case Study

Military veterans are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as the general population in the UK.

Operation Re-org aims to help veterans to progress into sustained employment and gain long-lasting positive changes in their personal circumstances as a result of having a regular salary and routine.

Many veterans are in the high risk group for Covid-19, so the programme shifted emphasis in 2020 to provide emergency support like food deliveries for people who were shielding, benefits advice for those on low incomes and telephone check-ins with veterans at risk of social isolation.

Emily’s career gets a green kickstart

Case Study

“I think that Green jobs are an important catalyst for a greener, more sustainable society. The environment is something that affects us all and has an impact on many different aspects of daily life. It is really important for people to be educated on the benefits and opportunities of sustainability.” – Emily

Emily recently joined Groundwork through the Kickstart scheme as a Development and Research Assistant. She works as part of our Communities Team to deliver conservation projects and our Employment and Skills team, helping people get into jobs and training – at the same time as boosting her own prospects.

Promoting greener living and working

We help people and businesses to reduce their environmental impact, improve their health and wellbeing, cut waste and save money.

A new lease of life

Case Study

Groundwork London’s reuse hubs are working alongside local communities to preserve the environment and make sustainable choices by restoring and repairing ‘waste’ furniture items, reducing fly-tipping and amount of waste sent to landfill sites.

The Loop train local residents through workshops, giving opportunities to those who have been struggling to find or maintain steady work. For some volunteers the project has been a lifeline that helps them to manage their mental health and reconnect with their community.

The Loop reinvests all their profit back into their workshops, allowing them to work towards a vision of a sustainable future. 

Protecting playgrounds

Case Study

According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is the single biggest environmental risk to human health. In the UK, poor air quality equates to 40,000 + early deaths every year, with the young and old in society being the most vulnerable.

Nature-based solutions can have a major impact on addressing this issue.  Groundwork’s landscape architects are at the forefront of innovative pilot projects that work with nature to help protect school children in vulnerable playground environments alongside busy, polluted roads.

We are trialling a series of ground-breaking evergreen barriers at a number of schools across the country, that help disperse pollutants away from playgrounds to protect the developing lungs of school children.