Charity | Posted on December 16th, 2025 | return to news

21 Dorset community groups to receive shares of £70,000 grant

Dorset Community Foundation and Wessex Water are awarding grants totalling £70,000 to voluntary groups and charities across Dorset.

A total of £70,000 will be split among 21 voluntary groups and charities across Dorset working to improve the lives of people in their communities.

The grants are being awarded by Dorset Community Foundation and Wessex Water. Since 2020, the Wessex Water Foundation has provided grants of at least £500,000 a year to projects across the Wessex Water region.

Among the 21 grant recipients is the Gambian Association of Dorset, which will use a £3,000 grant for community activities, including family networking events, children’s activities, sports and recreation spotlights, storytelling sessions and information sessions.

The Gambian Association’s Baye Sow said the group, which supports 750 people from Gambian and Senegalese communities living in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, asked members what activities they want using a poll on a WhatsApp group.

“Parents often highlight that their children are growing up without enough exposure to our Gambian traditions, stories and music,” he said. “They want their children to feel pride in their identity and to connect with their heritage in a way that is fun and interactive. Young people have also asked for more safe spaces to meet others from similar backgrounds and build confidence.

“With this funding, we hope to achieve stronger, more confident and better-connected individuals and families within the Gambian and wider African community. The African storytelling sessions will ensure children grow up with pride in their heritage, while the monthly information-sharing sessions will empower adults to access services confidently.”

Meanwhile, Home-Start Blackmore Vale received £3,364 to help recruit and train volunteers to support young families. Funding co-ordinator Jen Pickard said referrals to the group have risen by 30 per cent in the last three years and 12 per cent in the last 12 months.

She said: “This grant will support our early intervention, core, home-visiting service for families in Blandford Forum.

“We aim to recruit 10 new volunteers who could support up to an extra 30 families in a 12-month period. Our trained volunteers visit or contact families on a weekly basis, offering both practical and emotional support, as well as befriending. They help strengthen family relationships.”

Island Community Action received £3,441 to fund its Community Connectors, who help people who are lonely and isolated find services and activities to engage them.

CEO Kim Wilcocks said: “The project supports some of the island’s most vulnerable residents, including, but not limited to, older residents, those impacted by poor health and wellbeing and bereavement, those who’ve recently relocated to the island without support networks, and those experiencing hardship.”

Refresh — The Church of Weymouth and Portland in Action was awarded £3,200 for its Baby Matters Baby Bank to help pay for electricity and wi-fi. Team leader Elaine Bateson-Brown said the volunteer-run group operates from a warehouse on the Granby Industrial Estate in Weymouth, distributing clothes, toys and essential equipment for babies and toddlers to families in Weymouth and Portland.

She said the group now must pay the costs of running its base. “It is not easy to get funding for core costs,” she added. “Without it, we would have to close this vital service.”

Nourish Foodbank in Blandford is using a £3,000 grant to buy essential supplies for the winter. Manager Sophie Burditt said: “With this funding, we will be able to purchase additional food which will be used to help those in food poverty.”

The St Peter’s Church Development Project in Bournemouth will use a £3,000 grant to strengthen its community café.

“The grant will enable us to purchase essential café equipment, including refrigeration and a coffee dispenser, to improve service and expand our capacity to provide affordable meals and drinks,” said vice-chair Jane MacDonald-Styslinger.

“Funding for basic food essentials will allow us to continue offering hot, nutritious meals at low or no cost to those experiencing loneliness, financial hardship or social isolation.”

Wessex Water head of community engagement Kirsty Scarlett said: “We are pleased to be able to work with Dorset Community Foundation and their local panel to fund projects that have so much impact for local communities who need it most.”

Dorset Community Foundation chief executive Grant Robson said: “We are very thankful to Wessex Water for continuing to support communities in Dorset through this fund.

“Once more, we’ve seen grants going out to some fantastic groups who are doing amazing work that really is making people’s lives better.”

Find out more about the work of Dorset Community Foundation at www.dorsetcommunityfoundation.org.