News

Award from Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme

We are to receive £1000 that will help us to serve the Thornbury community by promoting, developing and supporting volunteering.

Our development co-ordinator Kim Webb said “for a small charity like us, grants like this allow us to create a volunteering infrastructure which in turn builds a stronger, more resilient community. A massive thank you to everyone who voted for us.”

Tesco’s Stronger Starts – previously Tesco Bags of Help and Tesco Community Grants – has already provided over £115 million to more than 65,000 projects across Britain. Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities.

Event Reports

Christmas Lights Switch-on

On Saturday 18 November we attended the Thornbury Christmas Lights Switch-on. It was a lovely afternoon and evening, the weather was kind and Thornbury was buzzing with families enjoying themselves. We held a tombola stall and raised over £100 for our funds. We also had a visit from our new MP Claire Young.

Christmas Tabletop Sale

On Saturday 2 November we held a highly successful Christmas tabletop sale at Thornbury Methodist Church Hall.

We were blessed with good weather which ensured a great turnout of customers for the local charitable groups and individuals who were present. They sold a great range of goods, including cards, Christmas crafts, and vintage bric-a-brac while also raising awareness of their work in the local community.

We served tea and cake to the visitors and held a giant Christmas raffle with donations from Tesco, St Mary Centre, Tesoro Lounge, Aldi, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and many more.

Altogether, it was a hugely enjoyable event. Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who made it a success. We raised more than £450 for our own funds.

Volunteer Fair

On a cold but sunny day, we hosted our annual Volunteer Fair in the St Mary Centre. Ten local charitable and community groups took stalls with the aim of recruiting volunteers, promoting their organisations and in most cases raising funds. Thornbury Radio played throughout the morning and Town Mayor Councillor James Murray visited and spoke to all the stallholders.

It was a very social and successful morning which attracted many visitors, resulting in more than £130 being raised and at least 33 potential volunteers coming forward, with many more people taking away information.

Our thanks to the St Mary Centre management team and South Gloucestershire Council for their support of this event.

Summer Award Lunch

As part of our celebrations for Volunteers' Week, on 11 June we welcomed more than 80 volunteers and representatives from 26 volunteer-involving organisations to a Celebration Lunch in Turnberrie’s Community Centre.

This lovely summer event allowed us to say thank you for the hard work and commitment this section of the community has given, and continues to give, to Thornbury and district. It was lovely to welcome guests and treat them to a delicious lunch very generously prepared and donated by Sandra at The Swan. It also provided guests with the opportunity to meet other volunteers and organisations and share experiences.

We were joined by guest speaker John Barnett, Chair of the Wotton and Thornbury branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The RNLI is this year celebrating its 200th anniversary and John gave a highly informative talk on its history with some humorous and interesting facts thrown in.

One main purpose of the event was to make awards to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of volunteers in our community. Thornbury Town Mayor Cllr James Murray kindly presented the Alan Hudson Award for Volunteering Achievement and the Clare Fardell Young Volunteer Award.

Spring sale

Our Spring Table Top Sale took place on Saturday 27 April in Thornbury Methodist Church Hall. We were joined by local charities, groups and individuals selling crafts, jewellery, cards, vintage items, bric-a-brac and much more. We held a raffle with a top prize of a Dee’s Cake Shop voucher and tea and coffee were served throughout the morning with delicious home-made cakes. We raised more than £250 for Centre funds and our thanks go to everyone who came and supported this event.

Christmas tabletop sale

On Saturday 11 November we held a highly successful sale at Thornbury Methodist Church Hall.

We were blessed with good weather which ensured a great turnout of customers for the local charitable groups and individuals who were present. They sold a great range of goods, including cards, toys, Christmas crafts, and vintage bric-a-brac while also raising awareness of their work in the local community.

We served tea and cake to the visitors and held a giant Christmas raffle with donations from Tesoro Lounge, Hawkes House, Tesco, Aldi, Foxhills Café & Gifts, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Oldown Country Park and many more.

Altogether, it was a hugely enjoyable event. Our heartfelt thanks go to everyone who made it a success. We raised more than £500 for our own funds.

Volunteer Fair 2023

On 14 September Thornbury Volunteer Centre hosted its annual Volunteer Fair in the St. Mary Centre for ten local charities and organisations. The aim was to promote the organisations, publicise their volunteer opportunities, attract new volunteers and, in some cases, raise funds.

Thornbury Radio played throughout the morning and Thornbury Town Mayor, Cllr. James Murray visited and spoke to all the Stallholders. It was a lovely morning with many visitors, resulting in over £150 being raised and at least 22 potential volunteers coming forward, with many more people taking away information.

Our thanks to the St. Mary Centre Management team and South Glos Council for their support.

Volunteers’ Week awareness

National Volunteers’ Week runs each year from 1-7 June. This year we held a display of opportunities in the St Mary Centre throughout the week, beginning the week with a sale of donated vintage items on 1 June.

This raised £58 for our funds and allowed us the opportunity to talk to passers by about volunteering. Over the course of the week new enquiries from 9 potential volunteers were received.

Celebration Lunch

On Wednesday 7 June, as part of our celebrations for Volunteers’ Week, we welcomed more than 60 volunteers and representatives from 24 volunteer-involving organisations to a Celebration Lunch in Turnberrie’s Community Centre, Thornbury.

This summer event allowed us to say thank you for the hard work and commitment this section of the community has given, and continues to give, to the Thornbury and district area. It was lovely to welcome guests and treat them to a delicious lunch whilst giving them the opportunity to meet other volunteers and organisations and share experiences.

They were joined by guest speakers Eryl Daniels and Terry Ray. Terry gave an interesting and informative talk on Thornbury's oldest charity, Thornbury Town Trust. This charity supports people in need in the Thornbury area by allocating hardship grants and donating Christmas presents to children in need.

Eryl spoke movingly about the joys of hosting a Ukrainian family for the past year and how the local community have welcomed Ukrainians into their homes and supported them through clothes donations, weekly cafe, English lessons and much more.

The annual Alan Hudson Award for Volunteering Achievement was awarded to Thornbury Litterbusters for their outstanding contribution to Thornbury and the Clare Fardell Young Volunteer Award went to Mike Rogers for his outstanding voluntary contribution to Krunch South West.

This celebration event was made possible with grant funding from Thornbury Town Council.

Easter Sale 2023

Following our successful Christmas sale in Alveston we relocated to Thornbury Methodist Church Hall for Easter.

We were joined by a local charitable groups and individuals who were selling a wide range of goods to raise much needed funds for their organisation. It was also an opportunity for them to raise awareness of the valuable work they undertake in their local community. Although the weather was dismal we still welcomed a good crowd of visitors.

We served tea and cake and held an Easter raffle and it was a lovely relaxed event. We raised approximately £250 for our own funds and would like to thank everyone for their support.