News > Remembering Winston – renaming our men’s mental wellbeing innovation fund for Somerset

Remembering Winston – renaming our men’s mental wellbeing innovation fund for Somerset

9 August 2023

Stepladder, our men’s mental wellbeing project in Somerset, offers funding for groups and activities through the Innovation Fund.

We’ve supported some wonderful initiatives since Stepladder launched in September 2021 including:

  • Wellbeing Wanderers – a men’s football team set up at Bridgwater Football Club
  • Men on Mats – a weekly pilates class in Street, for men over 60
  • Blokes Bonfire – providing refreshments to a small group who meet monthly
  • Funding equipment for Willow Weaving workshops’ fishing sessions

Stepladder’s team manager Winston Williams was a driving force behind the project, passionate about men’s mental health and supporting men to find the strength to ask for help when things weren’t going well.

Tragically, Winston died suddenly in April, a huge loss to his family, friends, colleagues and the Stepladder project as a whole.

As a tribute to our beloved colleague and friend, Winston, with his family’s blessing, we have renamed the initiative in his honour. The innovation fund will now be known as The Winston Innovation Fund. It remains open for individuals and organisations to propose visionary projects, events, training programmes, or community activities that support men’s wellbeing and mental health in Somerset.

As we honour Winston’s memory, we invite you to be part of creating a positive impact on men’s mental wellbeing and build a more supportive, understanding community making a lasting difference for men’s mental health in Somerset.

For more information or to apply for some funding visit Stepladder Innovation Fund –
if you have any questions on eligibility please contact stepladdersomerset@secondstep.co.uk

How The Winston Innovation Fund works.

Grants of between £300 and £1,000 are available to apply for, below is some of the criteria and how the funding could be used:

  • Proposals that support men aged 18+ to improve their wellbeing and mental health
  • New projects or for equipment or resources that support new projects
  • Voluntary, community and social enterprise groups supporting men’s wellbeing
  • Local groups or individuals who are not constituted but have appropriate governance in place
  • Proposals that improve the wellbeing of at least five men.
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