Charitable giving

Supporting local communities

We are pleased to see the new kitchen at Southwick Village Hall which has been upgraded following a £10,000 Landfill Communities Fund grant from Hills. The upgrade will benefit existing users and attract more custom to keep the village hall a viable proposition for the future.

Southwick Village Hall Kitchen

RAF Compton Bassett memorial plaque

Hills has reinstated the memorial plaque at the gates of the entrance to the former RAF Compton Bassett site.

The plaque remembers the history of RAF Compton Bassett that first opened in 1940 and acted as a training school up to its closure in August 1964. RAF personnel were trained in signalling and wireless operations and latterly also as ground radar technicians before being posted to RAF operational stations and airfields around the UK and overseas.

Brian Ellis, Transport Co-ordinator Quarry Products said: “Being ex RAF Regiment for 22 years, I note the plaque reinstated at Compton Bassett and I thank and praise Hills for this! As an employee it makes me feel proud that the company I work for cares so much about these historic places that helped shape the lives we have today.”

The memorial plaque at the gates of the entrance to the former RAF Compton Bassett site.

Hills has also supported Lyneham Village Hall with a grant of £10,000 through the Landfill Community Fund for a new roof. This has recently been completed providing a dry, warm location for socialising and events.

Lyneham Village Hall

Hills is proud to have provided a grant of £2,500 through the Landfill Community Fund for the Thankful Village Memorial at the Tadpole Garden Village, Swindon. It provides a fitting memorial to the sacrifices made by many during conflict to ensure the freedoms we enjoy today.

Charitable giving

The Charity Committee based at County Park, Swindon have held several fundraisers this year already, with the most recent one being Red Nose Day for Comic Relief. The charity helps people living incredibly tough lives both in the UK and across the world. This includes supporting people fleeing the war in Ukraine and other ongoing conflicts.

Colleagues at County Park played online bingo and guess the cake sweepstake, dressed in fancy dress, and purchased sweet cones to raise a grand total of £254.34 for the charity. The fancy dress competition winner was Magda Emery, Customer Support Advisor, Waste Solutions, for her roar-some dinosaur costume.

From left to right- Suzi Hinton, Tracy McCaskie, Amanda Garnham, competition winner, Magda Emery, Sammi-Jo McCaskie, Nicola Taylor, Brian Ellis, and Peter Spiller.

In December, in place of sending company Christmas cards, we made donations to the following charities to support their causes.

Doorway is a charity drop-in centre for those who are homeless, sofa surfing or who have complex issues that might affect their ability to acquire and/or sustain a tenancy. www.doorwayproject.org.uk

Phoenix Enterprises is a Swindon-based charity working with people recovering from short and long-term mental health problems. www.phoenixenterprises.co.uk

Karen Hyde, Service User Liaison and Commercial Manager at Phoenix Enterprises said: “We would like to thank you so much for the generous cheque that you sent us. May we take this opportunity to thank you for your support and wish you a prosperous year.”

Swindon Women’s Aid supports male and female victims of domestic abuse. Available in Swindon 24/7, and the rest of Wiltshire every night, weekend and bank holiday. www.swadomesticabuse.org

The British Heart Foundation is a national charity funding research into all heart and circulatory diseases including stroke, vascular dementia and diabetes. Raising money to research cures and treatments, to beat heartbreak forever. www.bhf.org.uk

Phoenix Enterprises’ Service Users at their office in Swindon.