Financial support

At Southbank Multi Academy Trust, we pride ourselves on the support our schools give to families in need. A whole host of services are provided, including financial support for pupils to access extra-curricular activities and trips, help to buy uniforms and PE kits, as well as food banks and eco-laundries.

If you are in need of financial aid, please ask a member of staff at your child’s school for further information.

The information below provides further information about how you can access additional financial support from local and national charities and services.

If you are struggling financially and are finding it difficult to feed hungry mouths contact your school and they can issue you with a foodbank voucher. Then all you need to do is take the voucher or the voucher code to your local foodbank, and redeem for your parcels of food. If you are unable to travel to your local foodbank, they may be able to deliver the food to you. Each family is entitled to three vouchers per year, with an additional three vouchers available to cover holiday periods.

See the website for further details.

The Charity of Jane Wright helps people who are residents in the City of York and find themselves in need. They provide Almshouse accommodation to those in need and grants to both individuals and other charitable organisations. You can contact them on the following:

T: 01904 655555

E: cjw@harlandsolicitors.co.uk

W: https://janewright.org.uk/

Family Action know, that by giving a small grant when it’s needed the most, they can remove immediate financial barriers. This helps families to work through the bigger issues they’re facing, such as fleeing abuse or keeping their children in school. Their grant programmes aim to strengthen families and communities, build skills and resilience and improve life chances.

You can apply for a grant here or contact them on:

T: 020 7254 6251

E: info@family-action.org.uk

Turn2us is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially. Anyone can be a missed pay-cheque, illness or bereavement away from a real financial crisis, which is why they can help you find the support you need to get back on track. The Benefits Calculator takes less than 10 minutes to complete and it will tell you which means-tested benefits you may be entitled to, including tax credits.

The Grants Search can help you look for funds that might be able to give you a grant or other types of help. They also award their own grants from the Turn2us Elizabeth Finn Fund, the Turn2us Response Fund, and the Turn2us Edinburgh Trust.

Turn2us is a free service that helps people in financial need to access welfare benefits, charitable grants and other financial help – online, by phone and face to face through partner organisations.

Visit the Turn2us website.

The York Common Good Trust exists simply to make grants to groups which will benefit the citizens of York. Grants are generally in the £500-1000 region.

If you wish to see if you would be eligible for a grant, please visit the website.

York Financial Assistance Scheme (YFAS) provides help to local people in financial difficulties due to exceptional circumstances.

YFAS can provide:

• goods
• services
• gas and electricity top-ups
• supermarket vouchers

They only make emergency cash available in exceptional circumstances, when they’re unable to provide direct assistance. Items are awarded on the basis of need – for example, they could only provide a carpet if you have a baby or toddler who’s crawling.

To see if you would be eligible for support please click here. 

In addition, there are a range of advice and support services across the city, with more information available at:

www.york.gov.uk/BenefitsAdvice

www.livewellyork.co.uk