Challenge Prize winners | News and events

Three brilliant local charities have each received a share of £36,000 in investment from Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS), to help people who are in groups facing disadvantage gain more control over their own health and wellbeing.

The Health Inequalities Challenge Prize, now in its second year, offers local organisations and groups the opportunity to compete for funding to help tackle inequalities felt by communities across the area. This year the focus was on personalised care – giving local people more control over, and say in, their own health and care. Eight finalists took part in the Challenge Prize this year, with each receiving £4,000 to help them work on their shortlisted proposals.

The charities to receive additional investment have now been announced during a special awards ceremony. Hunts Community Cancer Network (HCCN) received the first prize – with £20,000 invested to help them support people with cancer, and their loved ones. The charity will use the funding awarded to expand their service with a real focus on giving people with cancer empowering tools, activities and information they need to improve their quality of life and their chance of recovery. They will focus on each person as an individual to better understand and support people to take control of their own journey through cancer.

High Heritage, a charity that works with children and young people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, received a second place award of £10,000 for their brilliant work to empower young people facing bereavement and loss. In third place, £6,000 was awarded to Steel Bones, which helps people who have had amputations and their families.

The three teams to receive this investment will now receive expert support from the ICS to help them develop their award-wining projects further.

Louis Kamfer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Strategic Commissioning with the ICS, said:

“We know it can often be harder for people in disadvantaged groups to take control of, and have a say in, their own health and care.

“That’s why we were delighted to expand on the success of our inaugural Challenge Prize this year, supporting our eight finalists with a larger investment to empower local people in groups that may experience inequalities.

“It was great to hear about the fantastic work all eight organisations are doing to support local communities during the award ceremony. We look forward to seeing the work of all finalists, including the three winning teams, evolve.”