Our local community is at the heart of what we do. The slideshow shows our story so far, both in monetary terms and more practical initiatives.. Hover your mouse (PC) or tap the picture (tablet or phone) at the bottom of the image to see a description if needed. You can move the slideshow forward at your own pace.
Proceeds from our raffle and refreshments are donated to a local charity each October, as chosen by our members. In addition, speakers from charities often choose to donate their fee to the organisation they represent. So far we've supported:
Guide Dogs for the Blind to help train a local puppy
Wiltshire Air Ambulance
Naomi's House in Devizes
Wiltshire Sight
Serve On
Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum
The National Gardens Scheme via entry fees for visits
Wilts & Berks Canal Trust
South Western Ambulance Charity
Avon Needs Trees
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
A firefighting charity via the Going to Blazes talk
Dance2Learn
Freewheelers Blood Bikes Our running total currently stands at nearly £1,250.
Knitted, crafted and baked goods have also been popular, not just with our Crafty Crew and Happy Hookers getting busy! Our makes include:
Over 300 poppies for the joint Chippenham WI's poppy cascade project
'Traffic light' hats for the premature baby unit at the RUH
Innocent hats to help support Age UK's loneliness projects (Alleviating Loneliness was the WI's resolution for 2016)
'Roses for Rosie' for Springboard just across from where we meet
Cakes for SSAFAS events in Chippenham as well those baked for our October meetings
Crocheted coronaviruses for The Covid Chronicle exhibition at Chippenham Museum
200 red, white and blue flowers to help decorate Seymour House for their Platinum Jubilee party
We've found donation in kind is a great way to support organisations without the constant call for cash from our members. To Doorway we've given dried and tinned goods for their food bank, plus other items such as toiletries for their projects with homeless women in our town. During 2020's lockdown we also donated chocolates and biscuits to Pewsham's Lodge Surgery and Well Pharmacy to thank them for the work they did to keep us fit and well under difficult circumstances. In December 2021 we donated small gifts to Wiltshire Federation's Christmas appeal. We also have an annual collection of bras for Against Breast Cancer, which is a great way of keeping our smalls from landfill (thus also adding our support to the WI's 'End Plastic Soup' resolution) as well as helping to raise funds for breast cancer research and various projects in Africa. To this we've recently added an annual collection around Christmas/New Year of used stamps to go to a charity one of our members supports. 2021's donation was to the RNLI. Our regular hire of the Pewsham Community Centre means we not only have a regular 'home', we also help to keep this facility available for the wider community. We also attended a quiz evening there to support Springboard in 2021.
Our most practical task was helping Avon Needs Trees plant the final set of trees at the new woodland they've created at Stanley Lane in 2022. We're looking forward to going back there when the site is opened up as a stop-off point/picnic area along the railway path to Calne. We also attended Chippenham's ParkWalk and ParkYoga events and found ourselves slightly fitter and more bendy in the process.
Last but not least we are a charity ourselves! Our monthly refreshments and raffle help fund our activities on an ongoing basis, plus we've also held very successful quizzes and afternoon tea parties. The sales table at our monthly meetings supports our Sunshine Fund, which is used to cheer up our members when needed or to celebrate their successes. Easyfundraising is our latest way to support ourselves when we shop online and is a simple way of earning extra funds without the need to organise lots of special events. It's feel good shopping!