In the Village
Cerne Valley Young People Trust
Initially three independent proposals were received to fund village organisations supporting the young in our community: the scouts, the youth club and, for educational material about the environment, the school.
However, none wanted to succeed at the cost of the others and so decided to propose the Young People's Trust as the beneficiary on their joint behalf.
The Cerne Valley Young People's Trust was set up in 2007 by Geoff Hunt to distribute funds to support the activities of the young. Open Gardens gave seed funding of £2,217 in 2007 and followed this up by contributions in 2008, 2014 and 2017. It has also supported youth organisations independently: the scouts in 2013, 2015 and 2018; the youth club in 2016; and the school in 1995 and 2021.
Nigel Furness, Janet Gleason, Ron Wilkes
Friends of St Mary’s Church , Cerne Abbas
Our church is central to many village activities, is a key part of ‘our shared physical and social fabric’ and is not simply used for religious worship. Tai Chi, Country Dancing, Toddler Groups and Art Exhibitions and many other enterprises take place there. What is common in the buildings’ usage is that it supports our community, in a beautiful building, and enables a great many activities that indirectly provide not only income to local business but opportunities for strengthening our precious village way of life.
Most of the maintenance of this beautiful village amenity is funded by the ‘Friends of St Mary’s Church’ . This is an ongoing, onerous responsibility. For some years the Church has been the centre for the serving of tea for Open Gardens so it seems fitting that some monies from Open Gardens be given to support the efforts of ‘The Friends’. We would all be the loosers if the building fell into disrepair . This suggestion comes with the support of all the Trustees, bar one, who was unobtainable.
Lindsay Pedder
Outside the Village
Dorset County Hospital Charity
Background. Like many other UK Charities, the COVID pandemic had a huge impact on our fundraising plans and our ability to support charity-funded projects. During the pandemic, our income was significantly reduced and DCH Charity had to dig deep to support the ongoing demand for funding. At the same time, the ability of our supporters to run fundraising events on our behalf was severely restricted and major national challenges like the London Marathon were postponed or cancelled.
What we did. In response to the pandemic, our Charity activities were refocussed, and we found new ways to fundraise and to stay in touch with our supporters. Many of our fundraisers used exciting ways to fundraise online through virtual events and continued to do everything they could to help.
Why we need your support. We need to rebuild our funds to support much needed new equipment and make improvements to the hospital environment that make a real difference to our patients. Now, along with the community it serves, Dorset County Hospital is making a strong recovery – but there is a long way to go and many challenges to overcome.
Now more than ever, DCH Charity needs the support of individuals, community groups and organisations to continue to help make patient care even better.
Mike Keating
Dorchester Youth Theatre DYT
Dorchester Youth Theatre (DYT) is an inclusive youth theatre that serves Dorchester and the surrounding villages.
Our membership includes three members who live in Cerne Abbas and one past member who lives in Cerne Abbas and has now gone to work in professional theatre.
DYT runs weekly sessions from ages 6 – 18yrs, with four public performances though the year.
Our ethos is inspiring young people through drama; however, it goes much deeper than that. Drama allows young people to express themselves often at times that are tricky for them. The last 18 months is a prime example. We were in production week with our Senior Company when the whole country went into lockdown. Our young people were frightened, anxious, and becoming more and more isolated as time went on, not being able to meet up with their friends or go to school.
DYT were determined to keep our young people connected with each other and managed to run 120 Zoom sessions in total over four groups. Speaking to some of our older members, this was a lifeline in terms of their mental health and wellbeing.
Over time, some older members self esteem and confidence was being knocked and truly believe that our weekly sessions gave them some fun to focus on.
We have a strong passion in what we do and love every minute of working with these young people.
Helen Hewitt
New Dedicated Stroke and Neurological Rehabilitation Unit at Yeatman
Dorset County Hospital and Dorset HealthCare are jointly providing a new dedicated rehabilitation unit for people recovering from stroke and neurological illnesses or injuries.
One such problem is called Aphasia which is when a person has difficulty with their language or speech usually caused by damage to the left side of the brain.
The 10 bedded unit based at the Yeatman Hospital in Sherborne opened its doors to patients in August 2020. The unit is led by a Consultant Therapist working alongside a specialised rehabilitation team and hospital nursing staff.
The new unit forms part of the Dorset Vision for Stroke and Neuro rehabilitation approved by all four Dorset NHS trusts and the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group.
Clare Crosbie, Helen Hewitt