Eight local charities and community groups are sharing £6,500 from Bath Building Society’s annual charity awards scheme, with a further three being given hot air balloon tickets to raise funds.
The awards, now in their 12th year, were established to support as many local initiatives as possible from the growing number of requests that the Society receives each week asking for support.
Kevin Gray, Chief Executive of the Society said: “The Awards are very important to us and are a way for the Society to “give something back” to the local community.
“It is amazing the work some of these organisations do and the local people that they help and on such little funding, I’m just glad we can help! I am really pleased how the number of applications continues to increase year on year and this year is no different!
“I’d like to thank the Judges for spending their time to help choose the winners of our Awards; they were the Mayor of Bath (Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones), Graham Cottle from The Rotary Club Bath, Claire Wynne-Hughes from The Quartet Community Foundation and my colleagues Tiffany Hardie-Albutt and Tonia Lovell. It was a tough competition but we found our winners in the end!”
The overall category is for the Charity of the Year and this year the judging panel chose Bath City Farm.
The Society will work with Bath City Farm from 1st July until the end of June 2019.
Set on a hillside with fantastic panoramic views of the city, Bath City Farm is a 37-acre plot in the heart of Twerton and Whiteway in south west Bath.
The farm is not just a small holding free for everyone to use, it is also an important asset within the local community, offering adult education courses, volunteering placements and projects that are designed to help people combat issues of mental ill-health, drug dependency, social isolation and unemployment.
Bath City Farm say they are delighted to be chosen as charity of the year.
Helen Fisher, the Farms Manager said: “It means so much to have the Farms work recognised across our home city and to have the support of Bath Building Society’s staff and customers over the next year.
“This will play such an important part in helping us to look after this special place, raising funds and awareness of life on the farm.”
Winners across the Bath area included:
- The Community Bus, Bath – £1,500
- Bath Area Play Project, Bath – £1,000
- Bath FoodCycle, Bath – £1,000
- PEOPLE (Providing Ex-Offenders Positive Learning Environments), Midsomer Norton – £1,000
- The Keep in Touch Club, Paulton – £500
- Greenhill Gardening Club, Timsbury – £500
- Cerebral Palsy Plus, Bristol – £500
- Hop, Skip & Jump South West, Bristol – £500
- The Fluency Trust, Swindon – a pair of Balloon Tickets
- Caryford Community Hall – a pair of Balloon Tickets
- Bath MS Society – a pair of Balloon Tickets
