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Horsham Community Chest launched at The Fox Inn at Rudgwick
Mark Woodhouse welcomed the High Sheriff of West Sussex and more than 40 councillors, journalists and VIPs to The Fox Inn at Rudgwick on Wednesday 21 November 2007 to announce the launch of the Horsham Community Chest.
Applications are now open and welcome from all voluntary or community groups and organisations working for the benefit of local people in the Horsham District Council area. The Horsham Community Chest contains £15,000, which will be supplemented by specific fundraising initiatives by the Hall & Woodhouse pubs in the area.
The deadline for applications is Saturday 26 January 2008. Judging will begin shortly afterwards, and applicants will be notified of the outcome in April. Hall & Woodhouse pubs will also be invited to raise further funds for the successful organisations, and the awards will be formally announced at the end of May.
Mark Woodhouse, Vice Chairman of Hall & Woodhouse, comments: "There are so many good works being done in Sussex, and we're delighted to be able to offer this help to local organisations. We want to play our part in the community, and the Community Chest is all about improving the lives of local people to really make a difference."
The Hall & Woodhouse team is supported by partners West Sussex County Times and Spirit FM, who provide the Community Chest with publicity, advice and local knowledge.
2007 Winners Announced
The 33 successful applicants for this year's Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest were presented with their awards at a special evening held at the brewery’s Visitor Centre in Blandford in September.
 This year’s Chest contains a total of £20,400 and a time bank of up to 500 hours for practical voluntary help from Hall & Woodhouse employees. Demand was higher than ever, with more than 200 applications, requesting over £300,000 of financial support and 41 requests for practical help.
The Chest has now donated over £100,000 to 140 local voluntary organisations, with Hall & Woodhouse's employees completing over 2000 hours of voluntary work assisting with practical projects in the local community.
The largest single award this year went to the Rixon Playground Co-operative in Sturminster Newton, which plans to build a play area with the £2000 award.
 This year’s recipients included: Age Concern Dorchester, The Ark, Art'n'All, Blandford St Mary Play Area Action Group, Bradford Abbas History Society, Broadstone Community Concert Band, Butchers Coppice Outdoor Centre, Charlton Musgrove Village Hall, Dorset MS Therapy Centre, Fernheath Play Association, Four Leaf Clover Club, Hadspen Village Hall, Hot Rock Carnival Club, The Hub, Jigsaw Community Project, Longburton Village Hall, Lytchett Red Triangle Youth FC, Mere Town Youth Football Club, North Dorset Railway Trust, Parkstone St Peters Scout Group, Pilsdon Community, Poole Young Carers Sidekick, REMAP, Rixon Playground Co-operative, Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Garden, Shaftesbury Arts Centre, St Catherine's Kindergarten, Stalbridge Brownies, Sturminster Newton Learning Centre, Swans Trust Ltd, Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue, William Barnes Primary School and Henstridge RDA.
Strong Demand for Awards
Since the launch of the 2007 Community Chest at the end of February, Hall & Woodhouse have received 200 applications for awards totaling £300,000. Hall & Woodhouse have also received a record number of requests for practical help. Hall & Woodhouse' staff decorating skills are clearly no longer a secret!
 The practical requests are also much more varied this year with carpentry and gardening also featuring strongly.
Hall & Woodhouse staff will now be circulated with the list of practical help required and they will choose which projects they are best suited to support.
In the picture above, Anne Harris is still smiling after making 1,200 copies of application forms!
Judging Commences:
The closing date for applications for 2007 was at the end of April so it's now up to the judges:
- Fanny Charles - Blackmore Vale Magazine
- Marilyn Ayres - Community Magazine
- Colin Brady - Community Foundation for Dorset and Poole
- Anne Holmes - Vale FM
- David French - Hall & Woodhouse
- Mark Woodhouse - Hall & Woodhouse
 The judges, L to R: Mark, Anne, Fanny, David, Colin & Marilyn
The judges have now held their first meeting at which they decided which organisations they should visit.
Some 21 applicants requesting between £1,000 and £3,000 can expect a visit in the next four weeks. They will be notified shortly.
Applications for awards smaller than £1,000 will be judged at the beginning of August. All applicants will be notified in August.
2007 Community Chest launched at Hamworthy Scout Hut
Mark Woodhouse welcomed 25 mayors, councillors and journalists to Hamworthy Scout Hut on Wednesday 21st February to announce the launch of the 2007 Community Chest.
Hamworthy Scout Hut was chosen as the venue as it had been the recipient of a £2,500 award in 2005 to help replace the leaking roof.
The 2007 Community Chest is again offering voluntary organisations a share in £20,000 and up to 500 hours practical help.
Mark Woodhouse said he was once again delighted to be able to offer help to local organisations. "The Community Chest is all about improving the lives of local people and I hope this year we will once again be able to make a difference".
The timetable for this year's Community Chest is as follows:
| 21st February |
Community Chest Launch |
| 28th April |
Applications deadline |
| June |
Applications judging |
| July and August |
Judges visits |
| September |
Awards Presentation |
Community Chest Wins Food & Drink Federation Award
Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest beat a roll-call of major global brands to take Silver in the 2006 Food & Drink Federation Community Partnership awards.
Hall & Woodhouse was awarded silver in the Local Community category, having been short listed from 22 entries. Past entrants include community programmes from Nestle, Coca Cola, Kraft Foods, and Cadbury. This year, Hall & Woodhouse triumphed alongside food industry giants such as Sainsbury, Tate & Lyle and Danone.
 The awards, now in their fourth year, recognise and reward community involvement of staff and companies throughout the food and drink industry, showcasing activities in corporate social responsibility, community action and education along with best practice in the industry.
Mark Woodhouse, Vice Chairman, Hall & Woodhouse comments: "We are delighted to have been recognised and grateful for all the support we have received from our partners. Hopefully, the national profile of these awards will inspire other organisations to make a similar difference in their local communities."
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