Awards celebrate our charity and voluntary sector

We are thrilled that several wonderful grassroots groups and charities were winners at the Wiltshire Life Awards, held at Devizes Town Hall.

It was a pleasure to see the hard work and dedication of Wiltshire and Swindon’s voluntary sector, something we see every week, recognised and celebrated in this way.

Doorway Project in Chippenham was awarded Wiltshire’s Community Group of the Year, an award category we sponsored.

The group, which last year moved to a new base at The Citadel in Bath Road, provides a drop-in for rough sleepers and those in accommodation where they can get a hot meal, clothes and do laundry as well as take a shower. They can also get access to support with addiction, mental health issues and other health services, as well as assistance with benefits and housing. Thanks to the generosity of our donors we were able to award Doorway a £5,000 community grant for the next three years.

Runners-up in the category were Tadpole Garden Village in Bloom in Swindon and Building Bridges in Devizes. TGV encourages people in the community to take pride in where they live through horticulture, environment and community projects. Building Bridges supports people on the margins of employment across Wiltshire and Swindon through projects and activities.

Swindon Carers Centre was the first winner of the new Charity of the Year category. It supports more than 4,000 unpaid carers across Swindon with activity days, respite, training and, most importantly, a listening ear.

Runners-up were Julia’s House Children’s Hospice and Wiltshire Citizens Advice. Julia’s House provides care for children with a life-limiting illness as well as support for families both at the hospice and at home. Wiltshire Citizens Advice, a partner in our Surviving Winter appeal, helped almost 18,000 people in 2020/21 with debt, employment and housing advice.

We’d like to say a huge well done to not only the winners and runners-up but to all the groups who made the shortlist. The Wiltshire Life awards were established to showcase the best in every corner of life in the county, and the finalists this year have amply demonstrated the abundance of compassion, energy and innovation of our charity and voluntary sector.

Congratulations too to everyone at Wiltshire Life for another wonderful awards night.

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