Published: 25 October 2021
Following a nationwide search, Cinnamon Network have announced five grassroots projects joining their Cinnamon Project Incubator teaching and coaching programme – helping to grow and develop church-led social action.
With the support of funding from Benefact Trust, these ambitious social actions projects will receive support from industry professionals so they can develop and join the community of replicable Cinnamon Recommended Projects.
Over the past 18 months, churches have stepped up to support their communities in more ways than ever. By developing new projects that can easily be replicated, Cinnamon wants to ensure that the Church continues to be at the heart of the nation’s COVID-19 recovery.
The projects selected to join Cinnamon Network’s Incubator Programme are:
- Flourish - Flourish churches to become ‘Flourish Hubs’ which engage with young people and the adults in their lives to improve mental wellbeing, self-esteem and happiness.
- FoodSaver - combines a food pantry model with a credit union to help reduce grocery bills and help families save for the future by putting money aside for the future.
- The KEYS Project - trains small, church-based teams to help individuals find freedom from addiction through a holistic programme of medical, spiritual, and community support.
- Running Space - tackles the issue of suicide, by using physical exercise is the catalyst to bring people together to build friendships and find purpose in life.
- Wave - helps churches and other community groups to become more inclusive places, where people with and without learning disabilities can enjoy doing things together.
Projects that have benefitted from support from the Cinnamon Incubator Programme in the past include Renew Wellbeing and Make Lunch, among others. Both of these are now national charities which have been adopted by many churches seeking to support their communities.
Cinnamon hope that the latest cohort of initiatives will follow in their footsteps and ensure that the sector is positioned to offer a distinctly Christian response to challenges facing our communities.
Mike Royal, Co-Chief Executive of Cinnamon Network, said: “There are so many incredible church-led initiatives out there finding creative ways to support their communities. We believe it’s important to find out what God is doing and join in with him. We are so excited about working with these five new projects and are so grateful for the support from our friends at Benefact Trust who are making this possible.”
Chloe Ewen, Grants Officer for Benefact Trust, said: “Cinnamon has a proven track record in growing social action networks, sharing impact and learnings from pioneering churches and enabling others to follow in their footsteps. We were delighted to fund this innovative programme of activity, which will develop and empower Christian community leaders and grow the social franchise network, putting even more churches at the heart of tackling some of the biggest issues facing society and enabling communities to rebuild stronger and feel more connected."
