A hearty donation
A Coventry law firm has made a hearty donation that is already supporting three local good causes.
Band Hatton Button in Warwick Road has donated £12,500 to the Heart of England Community Foundation - one of the largest grant-making organisations across Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull.
The first round of funding, totalling £4,262, has been distributed between three good causes in the city, Coventry Mencap, which provides support to people with learning difficulties; the Sahara project, which supports the mental well-being of Asian elders and carers; and a parent and toddler group in Stoke Heath.
Band Hatton Button helped to raise the money by organising a number of staff fundraising activities as well as staging a charity ball in support of the Heart of England Community Foundation last year.
Coventry Mencap has received £1,000 to fund a new dance class tutor, who will host weekly sessions for children aged three to seven and eight years and over, at Coventry Boys Club in Whitefriars Lane.
The Sahara project has received £1,300 in funding to organise a trip to the Isle of Wight for Asian elders supported by the charity, while £1,962 has been donated to the parent and toddler group which plans to install a messy play area and toy storage facility.
Mark Moseley, managing director at Band Hatton Button, visited the parent and toddler group held at St Alban's Church in Mercer Avenue to present the cheque.
He said: "We are extremely pleased to have raised such a substantial amount for the Heart of England Community Foundation which has been great at identifying a wide range of projects in need of our support.
"It was great to see how the parent and toddler group is supporting young children in the city and how our contribution will enhance play and learning activities available.
"All of the staff at Band Hatton Button were eager to support and get involved in our fundraising drive, which produced fantastic results, and we can't wait to see how the other donations will benefit people across the community."
Cheryl Wheatley set up the parent and toddlers group in 2011 and said she is extremely grateful for Band Hatton Button's support.
"We currently look after, on average, 15 children a week who take part in a mix of creative play and learning activities. The problem we have at the moment is that both the children and parents want an area where the children can take part in messy play because children learn through making mess," she said.
"The donation will enable the group to have more resources at hand, and there will be a nice area for them take part in messy play such as painting, cornflower play and all sorts of other activities. It will also provide a cupboard to store all of the toys."
The Heart of England Community Foundation will now work with Band Hatton Button to identify other projects in the area that may benefit from donations.
Sue Heyes, of The Heart of England Community Foundation, said: "Without generous contributions from companies such as Band Hatton Button we would not be able to support such amazing local projects that are making such a difference to people's lives.
Any money raised stays in the heart of the community and we identify projects and groups where the need is greatest. This donation is already making a positive difference and we look forward to working with Band Hatton Button in the future to enable further support ."