The Lord Mayor of Manchester's Charity Appeal Trust - We Love MCR Charity

Who we are

Manchester has a proud history of solidarity - of standing up for those who need help. From Peterloo to the Pankhursts, our city gives a voice to the voiceless. We stick together here, too - we know the power of community and know that, as Mancunians, we have far more in common with each other than that which divides us. And the Manchester of today is no exception. We are a bright, vibrant, successful city - but there are still some people who need a helping hand. 1 in 3 of our young people live in poverty. 1 in 10 residents have no qualifications.

So in true Mancunian style, we’re coming together to say - We Love Manchester. All of Manchester. We’re building on the strong legacy of the solidarity of the response to the Manchester Arena attack and we’re coming together again to help our great city be the best it can be.

We will:

• Help our young people gain the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to succeed
• Support communities to celebrate their diversity and find common ground

How are we going to do that? We’re going to raise money for things that really make a difference.

Things like the We Love Manchester Stronger Communities Fund, which will bring communities together. The We Love Manchester Stronger Communities Fund provides the opportunity for groups and individuals to apply for funding of up to £2,000 for initiatives that will bring their communities/neighbourhoods together to celebrate diversity and help build stronger relationships in and across those communities.

The projects that the Fund works with will have the following aims:

Pride – celebrating neighbourhoods and the people that live there

Connect – bringing people together to celebrate the diversity in our city

Educate – providing the chance for people to learn about where they live and their neighbours, both within and across Manchester's wards

After all, when we all work together, in true Mancunian style, then we can learn more about each other and can help each other stand tall. 

The other area where we concentrate on is our city’s young people. Our future starts here. We do this by using the Sir Howard Bernstein Endowment Fund to support young Mancunians with education, enterprise and employment. We know that those children who grow up in poverty may not have the connections that more affluent children have. The SHB Endowment Fund can support these young people not only financially, but also through an extensive and varied network of employers and trainers to create pathways for young people to move into a sustainable career that fits with their aspirations.

We also inspire our young entrepreneurs with Manchester Youth Markets - supporting young, budding entrepreneurs to get their business ideas off the ground. The programme is open to Manchester residents aged 16-30 who either have a business idea or are in the early stages of setting up their business and would like help to take it to the next level.

Finally, we fund Big Experiences for Young Mancunians.

The We Love MCR Charity supports young people and their families to experience a short break, to increase confidence and broaden their aspirations. For many young people an opportunity to increase their self-confidence, improve family relationships and broadening their aspirations can have an enormous positive impact on their future.  For example, the Ghyll Head Experience - a trip for over 30 young people and their families at Ghyll Head in Windermere.