Two Swindon charities are better off to the tune of £400 thanks to a donation from networking group Business Village.
TWIGS, a community garden project, and youth charity Inner Flame, were each given £200 from Business Village, which meets every Thursday at the Campanile Hotel for breakfast and networking.
Jo Smyth, owner of PR agency Word Worker, and Business Village secretary, said the donation arose because of the success of the networking group.
“Since Christmas in particular, our group is attracting more and more business people each week. We are run on a not-for-profit basis, so when we saw we had some spare money in the kitty, we decided to make these donations.”
Inner Flame runs courses for 16-25 year olds to help them develop the essential skills required for both independent life and work. It also delivers the Prince’s Trust team programme in Swindon.
TWIGS is a community garden project in Cheney Manor, and helps support people with mental health, drug and alcohol related problems. This year for the first time, it has taken on people who have dementia.
Inner Flame founder and trustee, David Wreathall, said: “We really appreciate this donation from Business Village. It will go towards some of the activities we do to enrich the experience of the young people we work with, for example a trip some of them went on recently to the House of Commons.”
Chris Loveday, fundraiser with TWIGS, said the money would go towards helping establish part of the garden for cut flowers to be used for weddings.
Jo added: “We picked these charities because David and Chris are regulars at Business Village and have been coming to the group for the past nine years.”
Business Village meets each Thursday for breakfast and networking at The Campanile Hotel, on the Delta Business Park, Swindon, from 7.30-9am. The group charges no membership fee, just £10 per visit, and all are welcome.
Visit www.businessvillage.org for more information.
