A LEADING recycling firm is the newest founding partner of the Warrington Fund.

EMR, headquartered in Westbrook, is the latest company backing the initiative which aims to bring together public services, businesses, charities, and the voluntary sector to be a force of change within the town.

With a goal of combatting important societal issues like poverty, loneliness, mental health challenges, and homelessness.

The initiative, managed by Cheshire Community Foundation, comes after it was revealed there has been a 280 per cent year-on-year increase in people visiting the Warrington Food Bank, and that one in five residents have no qualifications.

And the Fund will prioritise the most pressing community issues or needs across the town, as well as campaigning for more funding for good causes.

As a founding partner, EMR has generously donated £40,000, and has strategically supported the set-up of the Fund to ensure its long-term success.

Chris Sheppard, chief executive at EMR, said: “We are delighted to be a founding partner of the Warrington Fund, working with Cheshire Community Foundation to ensure our investment in the local community makes a long-term difference.

“We are keen to encourage like-minded businesses to contribute to the Fund and support this fantastic initiative, which has been so successful in other areas of Cheshire.”

Meanwhile Mel Sproston, CEO of Cheshire Community Foundation added: “We are so grateful to EMR for their founding donation to the Warrington Fund.

“We have been grant making in Warrington for over a decade and our donors invested £1.1 million in Warrington communities since 2020, but prior to EMR helping us to kickstart this fund, there were still so many strong grant applications that we didn’t have the means to support.

“With this new initiative, we can pool resources in our hometown, working strategically together to achieve a greater impact.”

The establishment of the Warrington Fund follows the launch of the nationwide Building Brighter Future Fund, also delivered by Cheshire Community Foundation and EMR, which is built on the belief that every young person should have the same chances to grow, achieve, learn, and thrive.

EMR founded the Building Brighter Futures Fund last year with the aim of breaking the cycle of deprivation for young people across the UK. This supports UK charities, community interest companies (CICs) and small groups set up for charitable purposes that share the belief in funding employment, education or health and social care projects that help local young people.