Street Angels Chester, the local church-led initiative dedicated to providing care, support, and safety to people enjoying Chester’s night-time economy, has been awarded a £10,000 grant through the Nationwide Colleague Grant scheme.

The funding will directly support the projects ongoing work on the streets of Chester, enabling volunteers to provide vital first aid, emotional support, and practical help to vulnerable individuals during weekend nights and key events such as the Chester Races enabling the longer-term sustainability of the project.

The Nationwide Colleague Grant scheme empowers Nationwide employees to nominate and support local charities and community projects that make a tangible difference in their local areas, an opportunity seized by Rachael Guinness, who volunteers with Street Angels Chester.

Gary Wootten, Project Leader, said:

“We are immensely grateful to Nationwide and its team for choosing to support Street Angels Chester with this generous £10,000 grant. Our volunteers work tirelessly every weekend to keep Chester’s night-time streets safe, welcoming, and compassionate. This funding will allow us to offer our volunteers further training, run campaigns in partnership with other organisations, engage an independent evaluator and ensure that we have enough stock for the year. We can’t thank Rachael enough for nominating us.”

Rachael Guinness, employee in the Risk Function at Nationwide added:

“I applied for this colleague grant because I volunteer for Street Angels Chester. I was thrilled to read the news that £10,000 had been awarded, as it will support the vital work that Street Angels does in the Chester community, and will deliver lasting impact and a huge difference where it is neede

Street Angels Chester is a church-led initiative working in partnership with local police, Cheshire West and Chester council, local businesses, and the community to make Chester city centre a safer place on Friday and Saturday nights. Teams of trained volunteers walk the city streets into the early hours, caring for, listening to, and offering practical support to anyone in a vulnerable or difficult situation. You can find out more here: https://www.streetangelschester.co.uk/

Pictured from left to right: Rachael, Nationwide Colleague and Andrea, Project Administrator.