Family brewer, Hall & Woodhouse, announced the successful recipients of more than 35 grants totalling £50,000 for worthy causes across the south at its annual Community Chest Awards.

Charities and community groups located in key regions within Hall & Woodhouse’s (H&W) managed house estate across south England, from Dorset to Devon, have benefited from the annual fund. This year, a wide variety of charities were awarded funding at two separate events held for south-east based organisations (12th January) and those in the south-west (13th January).

Over £25,000 was awarded to 18 charitable organisations in Dorset, with a further four charities in Wiltshire, Hampshire, and Devon, being recognised at the awards ceremony held at The Brewery Tap in Blandford last week.

Mark Woodhouse, Family Director of Hall & Woodhouse, said: “Our Community Chest was founded over 20 years ago to support and strengthen the local communities which make Hall & Woodhouse such a vibrant company that is committed to providing support for those in need. This year, we have found the need to provide people with food, warmth, and shelter to be extremely high due to the cost-of-living crisis. It is both an honour and a necessity to provide funding for these good causes that play such vital roles in our communities.

“With costs rising during a financially difficult time for many, being able to offer necessary support for those in desperate need is more important now, than ever before. We are proud to make it our duty to help where we can with this critical fund.” 

Hope Housing, Training & Support was one of the charities in Dorset provided with a £3,000 grant for its services to support homeless, vulnerable adults in Bournemouth and Poole. The funding provided by Hall & Woodhouse will be specifically put towards appointing a Mental Health and Wellbeing Officer, who will be able to identify ways of helping people struggling to access advice and guidance.

£3,000 was also awarded to Vale Pantry, which provides aid to those in North Dorset with limited access to food, by offering help packages and advice centres. The grant will be used to purchase fresh food to ensure the charity is able to continue making food packages to meet the increased demand for this service.

A grant of £2,000 was awarded to Cycling Without Age, an organisation which helps people with limited mobility in Weymouth still have an active life. A team of volunteer ‘pilots’ ride trishaws around the town to allow their service user ‘passengers’ enjoy a bike ride in the fresh air. The grant will be put towards investing in more trishaws to expand the number of towns within Dorset to provide this service.

Since 2002, the Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest has donated over £760,000 to more than 850 causes across the south of England and works in partnership with both the Dorset and Sussex Community Foundations.

Please visit www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk for more information.