'We want to help women fulfil their potential'

THIS is meant to be an age of equality but women still face their own challenges. They lag behind men in terms of pay and often find their careers are hampered because they have a family to raise or are carers for disabled or elderly relatives. In Newcastle alone, more than 30,000 women each year become the victims of domestic violence.

The Women's Fund aims to address these issues, creating a network of women from a wide variety of backgrounds who want to help others less fortunate than themselves. Based in Newcastle, the charity is part of the Community Foundation (formerly the Tyne and Wear Foundation) and has raised £180,000 since it was set up in 1999. Single mothers, asylum seekers, victims of domestic violence and disabled people are among the groups to have benefited from grants.

"Women do face different issues to men and we want to help them fulfil their potential," says Barbara Gubbins, development director of the Community Foundation and manager of the Women's Fund.

"The idea was to help women who might not have the opportunity or confidence to go back to work or re-train or even train in the first place. We want to improve their access to training opportunities, as well as information and support on a whole range of subjects."

Last year, the Bridge Project, based in Washington, received £3,463 for its work with teenage mums. The project was set up in 1986 to get women back into work and help further their education. It has grown over the years and now has several separate strands.

One focuses on young mums, many of whom are just 14 and 15. The grant went to the girls taking part in the Connect course.

"The course is three days a week and the young women can leave their children in the creche while they take part," explains Linda Catherall, office manager.

"They learn about everyday things such as house work and different aspects of child care. Part of that is a residential programme. They used the grant to take the girls to Ireland, where they visited similar projects."

The Tyne and Wear Foundation was set up in 1998, based on the American concept of community foundations. These charities raise money from the community, which is then invested in an endowment fund. The interest from the fund is used to provide grants.

In 1998, the then chairman and chief executive went to America on a fact-finding mission and came back with the idea of setting up a women's fund. The initial aim was to set up an endowment fund, which would make grants to women's groups throughout Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.

The idea was taken on board by Margaret Barbour, who was on the board and a member of the development committee. She gave £250,000 to set up the fund, which the Community Foundation pledged to match. The Women's Fund was launched in October 1999 with Pamela Denham, former regional director of Government Office North-East England, as chairman.

Dame Margaret has been a driving force in the development of the charity. When her husband died of a brain haemorrhage aged just 29, the school teacher took over the family firm, which manufactured waterproof clothing. The wax jacket she launched in the early 1980s became a style classic, making her one of the country's richest women.

She has used her wealth to benefit charities, becoming one of Britain's leading charitable donors, and two years ago, added another £100,000 to her initial donation to the Women's Fund. This established the Nancy Barbour award, which commemorated her mother-in-law, and which goes to groups that work with women with disabilities.

One of the recent recipients was Gateshead-based DeafPLUS North, which received £2,500 to establish a project aimed specifically at profoundly deaf women. Around 15 women attend the group, where they have an opportunity to learn about a variety of health and social issues.

The fund is currently re-focusing and in April, held a lunch for 70 women from all walks of life. They were asked for their views on how the fund can be developed to help more women.

"There was a lot of enthusiasm and we got a huge amount of feedback about what women thought were the issues, what the fund should be doing and what inspires women to give," explains Barabara.

The findings have been gathered into a report, which the Women's Panel will consider later in the year. They may, for example, decide to focus on a particular issue each year, such as domestic violence, training or health.

Many of the donors so far have been individuals, although there have been larger contributions from the RW Mann Trust and the Benfield Trust, while Transco donated £20,000.

"Obviously we welcome these donations and we'd like to see men make donations too, but primarily we are trying to encourage women to give money to the fund, even if it's just £10 a month. It may not seem much but a small amount of money can add up and make a big difference to a group of women who are less fortunate. It might be a piece of equipment, to pay for a trainer to come in, outreach work for women who are isolated at home because they are disabled or unable to speak English," says Barbara.

The Women's Fund proved so successful, a Men's Fund was set up by the Community Foundation last year. Interestingly, it has proved a lot easier to raise the money. Barbara believes this demonstrates that while women do a lot of work in the community, often holding it together, very few are in a position to give substantial amounts of money.

"There are very few Margaret Barbours out there but everyone can do their bit. We can't change the world, and that's not what we're trying to do. We are just trying to build healthier and stronger communities by supporting women."

* Visit the website at www.communityfoundation.org.uk or contact Barbara Gubbins on 0191-222 0945.