As part of applying for BRiC Funding, your application will also be passed on to one of our partners, Active Lancashire, who provide guidance and support with your application, and help you to consider risk assessments, safeguarding, and the long-term sustainability of your project.

Stepping Stones provides funding of up to £1000 to support local projects which benefit the recovery and wider community. 

The introduction of the funding was in response to feedback from members who felt being able to access smaller grants with a simplified process compared to the main BRiC programme, would really help projects which otherwise might not be able to get funding and provide access to a diverse range of peer led activities for the community. 

Please contact a member of your local RRR team for further information.

You can apply online or download the application form at the bottom of the page.

Please bear in mind that funding is subject to approval and fund availability.

The JJ Effect CIC

The Woodland Project

The Woodland Project was achieved through a stepping stones application. This funding has enabled several men in recovery, to get out in nature, learn new skills and create a safe space to talk about the issues they are facing.

Run in partnership with Woodies Woodland Craft and Training , the guys have produced some amazing wood pieces including a bench to be used at Red Rose Recovery’s allotment, meaning that there work can be showcased and enjoyed by many other service users in the future.

Active Seconds (Active Lancashire)

“In 2020 Active Lancashire applied for £5k of BRIC funding to support their new venture of a charity retail shop/hub. The income generated from the retail side was to support outreach workers across Lancashire to work with people in recovery from substance misuse, mental health issues, ex-offenders etc but the BRIC fund enabled the shop, Active Seconds, to create a volunteer pathway with accredited training for our participants. An all singing, all dancing Epson till was made affordable through the fund which has enabled volunteers to be trained up on a till that is used in many other retail/hospitality businesses. We have been able to fund mentors and we have employed our first person who came through the volunteer pathway to us through the United Together Project and Probation. He was mentored/trained and is now employed for just one day a week working on the online side of the shop.

The bonus at Christmas that brought great happiness to the children at such a hard frustrating time was the appearance of Father Christmas for 3 days in the Hub. This was only achievable because the funding we received allowed us to establish the Hub giving us the safe space to make children and parents happy.”

OK F.C. (Old Knackers Football Club)

“We here at Old Knackers FC are grateful for the support of the BRiC fund and the support of Red Rose Recovery. We were established in December 2019 to play football matches for charity but we quickly realised that we are so much more than a group of men wanting to kick a football around for a good cause. Most of us are over 35 years old and some of us are carrying a little weight. We contacted RRR to help support us with the costs of hiring a pitch to train on. The successful application for funding allowed us to meet up once a week and train without having to pass the cost onto the boys. As 2020 has been a tough year due to covid and football has been very much stop and start the camaraderie we developed during these training sessions has really helped keep the spirits and mental health of the boys strong. We have developed other ways of getting together within social distancing rules (such as kicking a football around the guild wheel in relay and pairing the boys up to do 1:1 training). We are looking forward to resuming the training so we can develop even stronger bonds of friendship.” 

Find out more about OK F.C. at: www.OKFC.info or on Twitter: @FCknackers

Crossgate Church

“Since receiving funding from the Bric Fund (last Autumn) we have been able to put this towards supporting our local community with home cooked microwavable meals and bags of shopping to supplement  some households who are struggling to feed themselves. Those we are helping include the elderly, infirm, those shielding from Covid-19, some who are ill with the virus, families who have found themselves in a state of poverty and some members of our homeless and addiction recovery communities.

We have also been able to provide bags of food to be given out on the streets of Preston by Emma Daggers of Red Rose Recovery.

We deliver approximately 600-700 meals and 160 bags of shopping every month.

The future payments we receive as part of this funding package will enable us to keep supporting people throughout the coming months. We are aware of the intense hardship and poverty that existed in Preston and our local community before the pandemic – which has now exacerbated the situation considerably.

Our volunteers are a friendly face each week to those who are lonely and we have forged good relationships with many of our clients and we hope to find further funding in the future to continue supporting those who need it.”

Open Cinema

Skem, I Love You

We used our Bric funding to run “Skem, I Love You” Lockdown Soap Opera, a community wellbeing collaborative video project. The projects ambition was to provide a positive experience for households on lockdown; a community experience involving linking with other families and building new support networks. We also wanted it to be an opportunity for people to learn new skills and increase their

self-confidence. All participants felt an improved sense of wellbeing, an improved sense of pride about their town and now have a more positive approach to their mental health. As a wellbeing project, our soap opera was a resounding success. There have been some notable individual participant successes to celebrate as well, such as Mary-Anne who has been inspired to set up her own YouTube channel sharing her food preparation videos. Maybe  the project’s greatest achievement is giving our 14 year old writer Ryan the opportunity to write for professional actors who performed and filmed his monologues. We’re honoured to have been part of his and everyone else’s lockdown journey. The project has turned out to be a comprehensive account of Skelmersdale’s lockdown experience, a shared experience we can all relate to.

Watch now on Connector Media

https://www.connectormediacic.co.uk/lockdown

Or on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5yv6MBoWK0wlX_orMjGWBA