AN event was held this afternoon to highlight the impact the #GiveBradford is making in the city. 

The campaign, which started in November 2017, advises donors on the best ways they can give back to the community to create a positive change and improve people’s lives.

It is part of the Leeds Community Foundation, which has invested more than £3.8 million in Bradford since 2012, benefitting 155,000 people.

The Foundation has also identified £4 million of funding that can be used in Bradford in the coming years.

A key part of the campaign is the 100 Club, which is a scheme for businesses and individuals to invest in the foundation to allow it to work in the district.

The event was held at Shine, St Stephen's Church, West Bowling, which has benefited from grants given out as part of the campaign. 

Sarah Hinton, project manager at Shine, said: "For me, for local businesses to be able to give directly to the community in which they are, or they are around, is the best thing.

"It's hard for little charities to keep going at the moment. Any initiative that connects businesses and small places is wonderful.

"We've had a grant to do with youth work, so we can do an open access youth club and we do a mentoring scheme which is going on at the moment, so it's getting children together to cook and eat together and then to discuss their weeks."

The grant has also helped to put on sports activities. 

Tanya Jackson, Head of Corporate Affairs at the Yorkshire Building Society (YBS), the latest firm to back #GiveBradford, said: "For Yorkshire Building Society, supporting our communities has always been really important and that never changes.

"We believe we've got a duty to really support the communities where our colleagues live and work and sometimes the best way to do that is collectively with other organisations, so the Community Foundation is an absolutely brilliant way for us to do that.

"It's totally awe inspiring and humbling to come here and see the work Shine are doing - the number of classes they’ve got, the activities they have got.

“It’s just incredible, I think everybody should come and see what they are doing. It’s amazing.”

One space – the story room – has been created by a team of volunteers from YBS.

She added: “It’s absolutely what we should be doing, it’s right at the core of who we are as a business and partnering with the Community Foundation is a great way for us to get to the right areas in the community where they need that support from us.”

Craig Burton, Trustee at the Leeds Community Foundation and Chair of the Bradford steering group, said: “We give small pots of money to the right people, they can change the world.

“It makes a huge difference and it’s all about longevity, it’s about impact.”