Charities

Hendy Group teams up with Pennies to raise fund for local causes in Devon

Hendy Group has joined forces with fintech charity Pennies and its micro-donation movement to support Hendy Foundation.

Hendy customers in Devon can now top up their card purchases by an optional 50p to make a donation to Hendy Foundation which supports good causes in the region.

Chief executive Paul Hendy said, "Hendy Foundation was set up in 2019 to formalise the support Hendy has given to the community in its 162 year history, and it has already helped a wide range of projects in the area.

"By offering our customers the opportunity to make a small donation...

Full story

The latest in Charities

Make a Will Fortnight with FORCE

FORCE Cancer Charity has again teamed up with local law firms to offer a will writing service for two weeks in September.

Make a Will Fortnight runs from September 7-21 when solicitors based in offices across Exeter, East, Mid and South Devon will waive their fees to write a simple will in return for a donation to FORCE.

Suggested donations are £150 for a single will and £200 for a mirrored will.

The donation will be made at the solicitors’ office at the time of your appointment and will go directly to the charity.

Should you need specialist advice, your...

Exeter emergency collection point distributed over 28 tonnes of food amid crisis

Food charity, FareShare South West take in date, good quality surplus food at scale from the food industry and redistribute it to support the most vulnerable in the region. As a result of the Coronavirus crisis, the charity has more than doubled the quantity of food it has distributed into the South West. This included expanding into Devon and Cornwall sooner than anticipated because of a need for this emergency food. With their main warehouse in Bristol, an Exeter Collection Point was established to increase impact and give charities and settings in Devon and Cornwall easier access to...

Exeter builders merchant launches charity bulk bag campaign

RGB Building Supplies is delighted to launch its latest charity initiative to raise vital funds for Devon Air Ambulance.

The builders merchant has pledged to donate 25p to the charity from the sale of every promotional ‘bulk bag’, which are used to carry large quantities of aggregates, such as sand, crushed stone and gravel.

Tracy Owen, Fundraising Manager at Devon Air Ambulance, commented: "We are delighted that RGB has chosen once again to support us and would like to thank them for their on-going support. During these challenging times, being able to work with RGB and...

Exeter Chiefs stars join celebrities in supporting local charity with lockdown clear out

COVID 19 has had a devastating impact on charities revenues with mass event cancellations and charity shop closures. In a bid to weather the pandemic, local charity Exeter Leukaemia Fund (Elf) has been busy contacting celebrities and sports personalities with a plea for donations for their ‘Celebrity Lockdown Auction’.

Exeter Chiefs rugby stars are amongst the celebrities and sports donors with a selection of signed and worn league and national kit, from their homes. These items will feature alongside various other sport star donations including a signed shirt from footballer...

Exeter Chiefs Foundation donates record amounts during lockdown

The Exeter Chiefs Foundation has distributed funds totalling more than £200,000 since lockdown began.

Despite not being able to gather at Sandy Park as usual because of social distancing rules, the trustees met via Zoom to ensure vital funds were still being shared.

Among the charities and organisations to benefit were Living Options Devon, Exmouth Beach Wheelchair Project, Topsham Bowling Club and Farms For City Children.

The single largest donation of £100,000 was made to Exeter Community Wellbeing – a COVID-19 response service set up by Exeter City Council...

Freemason turns blue for charity

When the Country went into lockdown towards the end of March, David Force a recently retired local estate agent and a freemason missed out on a haircut by two days. No matter he thought, it will only be a few weeks. As the weeks passed, his silver curls took on a life of their own, turning from slightly unkempt to decidedly shaggy. David even thought about getting a job as a lookalike for Brian May, the Queen guitarist!

David and his wife have been volunteering for a small local charity in Dawlish, called Assist Teignbridge. It provides help and support for the elderly and those...

FORCE online art group a great success

FORCE Cancer Charity piloted a programme of online support during the Coronavirus lockdown with a weekly art group.

The six-week course proved so successful that a second group has been given the go-ahead and will begin on August 13.

The group is run on the Zoom video conferencing platform.

Three local artists - Lucy Rockliffe, Jess Carvill and James Hedge – lead the one-hour sessions alongside FORCE information nurse Nicky Peterson.

Up to six people can take part and each one is sent a free pack of art supplies before the first virtual meeting.

Part...

Devon urged to shop to save lives

PEOPLE across Devon are being urged to shop to save lives, as Cancer Research UK stores re-open after three months of devastating closures.

The majority of the charity’s shops are getting back to business to tackle a shortfall in funding caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its shops typically contributing more than £25m every year to vital research, Cancer Research UK has suffered a dramatic loss of income since they were forced to close temporarily at the end of March.

Highlighting the scale of the funding gap, the call to support shopsacross the region...

Thank you to customers and colleague at M&S Exeter for supporting NHS Charities Together

This weekend, colleagues and customers at M&S Exeter will be taking part in the one-off Clap for Carers to mark the 72nd birthday of the NHS, supported by the founder of the initiative and NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens.

Ahead of the weekend, the team have installed a new display to share with customers just how generous the local community has been during this unprecedented time. The in-store display (pictured right) shows how much M&S Exeter customers have donated through a range of activity including shopping M&S’s Rainbow sale (where 10% of each purchase is...

Deafblind UK helps people to live better with sight and hearing loss, this Deafblind Awareness Week

National charity, Deafblind UK, is on a mission to make things easier for people who have sight and hearing loss.

Director of Operations, Simon Moore said: “Combined sight and hearing loss affects around 400,000 people in the UK, but many people don’t realise that they’re suffering and just struggle on.”

The charity has also produced some guidelines to help people live better with sight and hearing loss. The leaflet, available to download online, suggests some simple and inexpensive changes that people can make to their home, or when out and about, to make things a bit...