Every year, Westfield Parish Council invite organisations who support the community of Westfield to apply for grant funding of up to £1000.
This year, we are pleased to announce that we awarded grants to thirteen organisations. The money donated will enable these organisations to continue providing important services to the residents of Westfield.
The Parish Council wanted to publicly recognise the local organisations that do such good work for the people of Westfield and held an evening of celebration for the grant recipients. The event was hosted at Westhill Club and a buffet provided, thanks to Terry and Annette Andrews. Grant recipients were invited to the stage to receive their “cheque” and give a brief overview of their organisation and how the grant money will help them achieve their aims.
Each of the groups represented at the event had a speaker that gave a few words explaining about their organisation, what it does for the community and how the grant from Westfield Parish Council will help provide that service.
Grant recipients included Citizen’s Advice Bath, for recruiting and training volunteers, Westfield Primary School, to create an outside classroom, Trinity Girls Brigade, for putting towards a coach to take the girls on their summer camp and Westfield Voices, for updating their sound equipment for performances.
These are just some examples of donations made and new applicants are always welcome. This year the Committee was pleased to offer a grant to HeartTalks, which is a new group in the area offering help and support to any family bereaved in miscarriage or childbirth. Chantelle Walmsley, founder of HeartTalks, gave a moving talk about what the organisation offers to people that are affected by this.
Chairman of the Parish Council, Phil Wilkinson said, ‘it was great to be able to celebrate these wonderful organisations who do so much for our community. The Parish Council is very proud of our grant scheme and the good causes that the money goes towards’.
The evening was a double celebration, as we were also joined by winners in the South West in Bloom competition, which took place earlier this year. Several organisations in Westfield had created some wonderful green spaces and were rewarded for that.
Cllr Eleanor Jackson invited winners to the stage to be given their certificates by Mr Sean Fletcher, one of the It’s Your Neighbourhood judges. Westfield in Bloom were recognised for their contribution to the local environment and a special award for inclusivity was also awarded to Swallow. It was quite amusing to hear that Westfield Primary School were awarded a cup to recognise their wonderful compost heap! Congratulations to all involved.
Westfield Voices Choir rounded off the evening with a couple of lovely songs leaving us very much in the Christmas spirit.
A lovely evening was had by all and we look forward to doing it all again next year!
Photo credit; Pamela Bruce Lockhart and Jenny Short – Norton Radstock Photographic Club
