The Dan Kay Foundation strives to make a difference to people’s lives by focusing on mental health training, food poverty and youth organisations. It’s the perfect example of a community group which could be nominated for the Pride of Britain Fund.
Local heroes could land up to £2,500 to help them boost their communities, thanks to a new fund set up to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards.
Grants of £2,500, £1,000 and £500 are all available as part of the Pride of Britain Fund’s £100,000 giveaway for good causes, and you can nominate the people or groups who you think should receive it.
It could be someone who devotes their time to make sure older people have companionship and a warm meal, or an unsung hero who spruces up the high street with flowers.
It may also be a sports club, where volunteers give kids a safe space to play, or a youth group putting people on the path to a brighter future. One such charity which is striving to make a difference to people’s lives in Liverpool and beyond is the Dan Kay Foundation.
The charity was launched earlier this year in memory of Liverpool journalist and campaigner Dan Kay, who died aged 45 in May 2023.
The Dan Kay Foundation was established by Dan’s family, friends and newspaper colleagues with the aim of tackling stigma around mental health while spreading kindness and creating opportunities for those less fortunate.
Helping others was a value at the absolute core of Dan’s life. He would spend Christmas Day feeding the city’s homeless, and dedicated his time during the Covid-19 lockdown to delivering food hampers to people in need across the city. Now the foundation set up in his name seeks to continue Dan’s tireless work.
Dan’s former Liverpool Echo colleague and co-founder of the foundation, Sam Carroll, said: “The charity was set up to continue the legacy of Dan Kay. Our priority is partnering with charities working in mental health training, food banks and youth organisations, and we’ve raised more than £15,000 since Dan passed away to fund organisations working in these areas.
“One charity we’ve partnered with is Tough To Talk, a charity dedicated to combating male suicide and promoting mental health awareness. They teach people how to have conversations with someone who might be struggling. One of the last conversations I had with Dan was about his next career and how he wanted to go into mental health training. It’s part of his legacy we want to support. Our overarching, longterm vision is to change the law around suicide prevention and what happens to people when they try to take their own lives.
“Another priority is working with people experiencing food poverty, by partnering with An Hour For Others. We also donated over £1,000 to Fans Supporting Food Banks last Christmas.”
Reflecting on Dan’s inspirational charity work, Sam added: “It only really came out after he passed just how much Dan did, and it seems that most nights he was doing things to help others. One of the things that stuck with me was when one of the charities we partnered with called to us to say ‘we’ve got a bit of a problem’ because they used the money we raised through our first memorial football match to provide fruit and veg boxes and supermarket vouchers to families on Christmas Eve, but they had no one to deliver them because it was always Dan who did it. So we stepped in on Christmas Eve to help low income families in Liverpool by delivering these packages.
“We are trying to step in on behalf of Dan. It always tickles me that now we’ve got 10 to 15 people trying to do the work Dan did by himself. He really was a superhero. He was the best sort of superhero because he never came into work and boasted about the charity work he was doing. None of us knew the scope of the work he was doing.”
And while the Dan Kay Foundation is only a small operation, it hopes to have a big impact on the local community. Sam said: “The great thing for the foundation at the moment is that we are a small start-up charity but we all have this passion to continue Dan’s legacy because we loved him so much. Every pound, every penny we receive goes straight back into the community. If Dan is watching over us now, I just hope he’s proud of what we are doing.”
And The Dan Kay Foundation is just one of the incredible initiatives across Merseyside that’s striving to improve the lives of people in our communities. Charities like this are the perfect example of deserving recipients that could be nominated for the Pride of Britain Fund.
The £100,000 giveaway is part of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, which are screened on ITV1 later in the autumn.
The fund, a charity that aims to spread the Pride of Britain spirit, was set up to help charities and community organisations across the UK.
It has already given grants to more than 100 groups, including North West youth charity N-Gage, which was founded by Christie Spurling, and has helped to transform thousands of young lives.
A £30,000 grant from the Pride of Britain Fund helped his charity buy a mobile youth club to engage with young people in the places they hang out. The converted 25-seater bus is kitted out with games consoles, tablets and music technology.
When Carol Vorderman announced the grant, Christie said: “It’s amazing. Thank you so much. I am literally speechless. It will make a massive difference.” Grants of £500, £1,000 or £2,500 are available, and you can apply for help with work you are doing, or you can nominate someone you know about to receive funding.
The Pride of Britain team will create a shortlist, but the final decision will rest with local communities all over the country, so you will be able to vote on who gets the funding in your area. To apply, scan the QR code and complete the online form or go to reachforms.co.uk/POB to access the form.
