Hall & Woodhouse held its annual Community Chest Awards recently, handing out more than 20 grants totalling over £27,000.

Among the successful recipients were organisations supporting people with disabilities, as well as groups offering guidance, training and career advice in the local area.

Mark Woodhouse, family director of the Dorset brewery, said: “At Hall & Woodhouse, we exist to make people’s day, and I’m proud to see this purpose put into practice in any way we can.

“We never cease to be amazed by the tremendous good that organisations can do for their communities and are honoured to help continue their hard work.

“It’s all about providing access to funding for small, local, volunteer-led and trustworthy organisations that make a real difference.

“It’s always a privilege to meet the people behind the organisations which are making such a positive change.

“Already, I very much look forward to launching the community chest again in the spring.”

One recipient was Weymouth Foodbank, which fed a total of 14,156 people across four Weymouth locations in 2023 – up 56 per cent on the year before.

The team received £2,700 from Hall & Woodhouse to cover the purchase of milk, cheese and eggs for the next month.

Dorset-based charity Countrymen UK also got £1,000 towards running costs and activities for individuals experiencing isolation due to physical or mental deterioration.

And there was another £1,000 for Island Community Action (ICA) in Portland, which provides support services and arts & crafts workshops to some of Dorset’s most deprived areas where people are suffering from physical, financial and mental hardships.

The three charities join 900 other causes across the South who have received a combined total of £800,000 since the inception of the Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest in 2022.

• hall-woodhouse.co.uk

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