Archive of the Community Projects Charitable Trust

Archive reference: Cwl NICPO

This small archive gives information about the work of a Trust set up to help communities in Northern Ireland during the 1970s.

The Trust

The Community Projects Charitable Trust was set up in 1974 by former civil servant Sir Arthur Drew (1912-1993). The original trustees were General Sir John Hackett and sociologist Richard Hauser. Hackett acted as Chairman and Drew and Hauser as Directors. The Trust aimed to raise funds to benefit the people of Northern Ireland by providing charitable social services, advancing education in welfare matters and encouraging voluntary work and research, as outlined in Hauser's 1975 report A Social Option. A later statement of purpose (Aide-memoire March 1976) read, "to provide the training and technical skills to help people in both communities in Northern Ireland build a constructive peace".

The Trust was based in London; much of the day to day running seems to have been carried out by Father Raymond Helmick, a Jesuit priest from the USA. The Trust was supported financially by the Wates Foundation and by Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany. The project employed several community workers in Northern Ireland. From 1976 it appears that funding for the project was discontinued and it was gradually wound up. Following Sir Arthur's death in 1993, Community Projects was closed down and the funds transferred to Women Caring Trust, a cross-community women's project in Northern Ireland.

The Archive

The archive consists of deeds, reports and correspondence, mainly from the 1970s.

Note in particular that a) access to much of the Archive is restricted under the Data Protection Act and b) that the Archive is not yet catalogued in detail. If you wish to use the Archive, please contact Special Collections staff well in advance of your visit to enable us to help you in these matters.