Drax launches £500 grants for education and skills charities

Drax’s Charity Committee has a dedicated fund for supporting good causes local to its operations, which include Drax Power Station near Selby and its hydro power plants in Scotland.

Charities and community organisations which support STEM (Science Engineering Technology and Maths) and education outreach, skills and employability, or which work to improve local communities, can apply for up to £500 per year from Drax.

Last year, Drax provided a £636,000 support package for communities which included laptop donations to schools to support students with home schooling, free energy for small care homes. It also launched virtual tours and work experience programmes to keep STEM learning opportunities open during the pandemic.

In addition, Drax contributed to the Two Ridings Community Foundation to help people in Snaith and Rawcliffe, near Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, after their homes were devastated by flooding. It also made donations to local food banks.

Alan Knight, group director of sustainability and chair of the charity committee, said: “Drax has a long history of supporting the communities local to its operations. It’s vital that businesses like Drax play their part in boosting education and employability so people are equipped with the relevant skills to support a green economy.

“We welcome applications from organisations which share Drax’s aims of boosting social mobility or improving the local area.”

Camblesforth Community Primary Academy, which is a mile from Drax Power Station, recently received support from the Drax Charity Committee.

Headteacher, Dave Barber, said: “We are grateful to Drax for its ongoing support for education and skills – it makes a real difference to the students’ experience which is so important – especially during the challenges of the last year.

“We’ve used the latest funding to further develop our children’s hands-on science experiences by purchasing five data loggers to help the children collect and learn more about data.”