South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF) celebrated its 40th anniversary this year and has helped companies, like Pen & Purpose (P & P), to maintain their services .
P & P help those who have experienced trauma, by hosting free weekly, in-person workshops focused on mental wellness, mindfulness, and personal growth.
Rachel Lindley Love, 54, founder and director of P & P, said: “I have lived the experience of being a partner of somebody who has been addicted, both gambling and substance-offending. So we have mostly people who have not been able to find relief through their natural health and statutory services.
“People are just craving optimism, support, the space where they can be themselves, and make connections with people and things, provided we establish that sense of trust and safety. Then we’re providing the space, time and asking the questions that make people more reflective so they can skyrocket.”
They received £5,000 in June 2025 from SYCF that helped sustain one of their creative health groups.
The money went towards supplying tools and crafting equipment needed to run the workshops, where every week a different crafting project is assigned, linked to a mental health issue.
Mrs Love said: “SYCF’s funding allowed us to get a lot more things for people to express themselves with. A lot of the time funders may think they’re funding a crafting project. Actually it’s so much more than that because they’re funding connections, recovery, wellness and self expression.”
Mrs Love is the author of ‘How to Wear a Silver Lining: Creating a life you love when it all comes crashing down’. This tells the story of what happened to her in 2018-19 when her husband was arrested.
While spending a year trying to keep him out of jail she received a cancer diagnosis.
She said: “It was a very transformative experience that led to the writing of the book, which is the heart of the company.”
SYCF is the region’s largest grant-giving charity. The Foundation has awarded more than £40 million to grassroots groups across South Yorkshire over the past four decades.
Jess O’Neill, grants and partnerships manager at SYCF, said: “It’s a pleasure to support a company that looks out for people’s mental health.”