Thank you to everyone who supported our Cost of Living Appeal - whether that was by sharing or liking our social media posts or by donating.

More than 4,000 children live in poverty in Elmbridge and, thanks to the generosity of our local community, we will be able to help some of these families.

We are delighted to say that a massive £16,823 was raised by donations from our local community. This amazing total has been matched by both Elmbridge Borough Council and Walton Charity and over £50,000 has now been allocated to 10 local schools who each hold a Walton Charity’s Opportunities Fund.

Walton Charity’s Opportunities Funds are allocated to local Elmbridge schools and they use these funds specifically to support students from low-income families, including (but not exclusively) those eligible for Pupil Premium support. Information on the Fund and a full list of the schools we fund can be found here.

Thank you - we could not have done it without your support.

2023 has been another difficult year. Rising living costs have put extra pressure on family budgets and, as our recent research shows, in-work poverty in Elmbridge is on the rise.

But once again, our local community has stepped up to provide support to those who need it most.

The response to our Cost of Living appeal was phenomenal and, thanks to match funding from Elmbridge Borough Council, we raised over £50,000 to provide much-needed support to local families.

And this Christmas, residents, businesses, schools and community groups across Elmbridge have generously supported our Santa Stork Christmas appeal, ensuring more local children will have a present to open on Christmas day.

Throughout the year, we continued to work closely with our partners and community and, together, have taken steps to tackle poverty and inequality in our local area.

Here are some of our favourite moments from 2023…

• Funding more fantastic community projects including fresh recipe boxes for local families, financial inclusion advice for foodbanks clients, and practical and emotional support for local parents.

• Opening the doors to The Bridge our new community hub for families struggling with the rising cost of living. A big thanks to the young artists whose designs inspired the new Bridge logo!

• Welcoming our new Chief Executive, Rob Mills, who took over the reins in March after 2 years as a Walton Charity trustee. We also bid a fond farewell to Jackie Lodge, who led Walton Charity for 14 years.

• Watching our green spaces flourish - welcoming Rewilding Forest School and Guided Wellbeing to the Tree Canopy Project, and watching flowers, vegetables and friendships grow at our Community Allotment.

• Celebrating the talents of our independent living residents as they sewed, crafted and sowed for some of 2023’s biggest events.

• Filling 20 Minis full of food to mark 10 years of the Walton & Hersham foodbank and the vital support the team provide for local people in crisis.

For more on the stories behind these highlights, just click on the photos below.

Thank you to all of our partners, supporters, volunteers, staff and trustees who have helped to make these moments - and all our work - possible.

We look forward to working together again in 2024.

Opening the doors of The Bridge

Extending support for the BRITE box project

Welcoming our corporate volunteers

Filling 20 Minis full of food

Welcoming our new Chief Exec

Celebrating with our residents

Sharing our green spaces with local children

Helping Santa Stork deliver presents

Our CEO and two of our trustees joined more than 400 students at a recent celebration event at the Brooklands Innovation Academy, designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.   

The Academy connects young people aged 11-18 with scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians from leading businesses. Part of a national Science Summer School programme co-founded by Professor Brian Cox and Lord Andrew Mawson, it offers a hands-on ‘learning by doing’ approach, providing practical experience and guidance for engineers and scientists of the future. 

Image courtesy of JP Bland, for Brooklands Museum

The celebration event, led by Professor Cox, included 20 action-packed workshops – including a toothpaste-themed workshop attended by Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Edinburgh! 

Walton Charity recently supported Brooklands Museum with a £51,100 grant, over a three-year period, to aid learning and community engagement with local schools. 

Prioritising schools with a high percentage of pupil premium pupils, 5,400 Elmbridge young people will have access to a programme of curriculum-linked visits to Brooklands Museum. A further 250 Elmbridge young people will attend events at Brooklands Innovation Academy, giving them direct contact with STEM professionals.

Tamalie Newbery, Brooklands Museum’s CEO, said:

“At Brooklands, engineers who lived and worked in Elmbridge solved the problems of their day and broke boundaries in aviation and motorsport, with world-changing impacts.

We are delighted to work with so many partners and supporters, including Walton Charity, to keep this local legacy alive by inspiring and supporting young people to take up rewarding careers in STEM, whatever their backgrounds.”

The BRITE Box project continues to go from strength to strength, enabling Voices of Hope, who run the project, to help more Elmbridge families facing food insecurity.

With support from Walton Charity, BRITE Box expanded its service into Elmbridge last year - providing meal kits to families from seven local primary schools. A further community grant of £64,000 over three years, will enable the project to provide meal kits to 180 local families.

Each week, during the school term, the BRITE Box team of volunteers carefully prepare and pack the meal kits which are then delivered to families identified at risk of food insecurity. Each box contains an illustrated recipe guide and all the ingredients to prepare a healthy meal, on a budget, for a family of five.

This hands-on practical approach aims to bring families together around food, building skills and confidence to enjoy cooking as well as eating healthy meals.

“We partner today with nine schools in Elmbridge, and we supply 80 families across these schools with a BRITE Box each week and that’s thanks to the grant from Walton Charity.”

— Nick Dawson, BRITE Box Project Lead

This year, Walton and Hersham Foodbank turns 10, and to mark the anniversary we challenged our local community to fill a Mini (or two!) with donations for the foodbank.

Although not a milestone to celebrate, the 10th anniversary is an opportunity to recognise the vital support from our local community over the past 10 years.

Building on this support, we challenged local businesses and community groups to help us fill 10 Minis with essential items most-needed by the foodbank. Our local community certainly rose to the challenge! They smashed the target, filling 20 Minis which equates to a staggering 2.2 tonnes of food and essentials!

The current cost-of-living crisis is pushing more and more people into financial crisis and many families in our local area are struggling to make ends meet. A growing number of people are relying on foodbanks, and we are seeing a marked increase in the number of working families needing our support for the first time.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the challenge and donated food and household items, including:

• Weybridge Vandals

• Amanda Flory Hairdressing

• Elmbridge Canoe Club

• Haleon

• Weybridge Mummies Mafia

• P&G

• Morrisons

• Esher Manor Care Home

• Walton Voices

• U3A

• James Neave

• Weybridge WI

• Sean Alexander Hair Studio

• And our local community on Walton Heritage Festival Day

See how you can support the Walton & Hersham foodbank here.

A newly awarded community grant will enable Cleves School to continue offering after-school tuition clubs in maths, reading, spelling and writing for disadvantaged pupils with low attainment levels. The school has offered these clubs before and seen great results from the fun and engaging educational activities. These extra learning opportunities will benefit 450 children in Years 3-6 over the next three years.

We know that education is one of the best routes out of poverty and improving educational opportunity and attainment for children in Elmbridge is one of Walton Charity’s key priorities. Each year, we award grants and funding to local schools to support disadvantaged pupils with learning and other enrichment activities.

Chris Hodges, Headteacher, said “We are delighted and very grateful to receive support from Walton Charity which will enable our pupils to receive more opportunities.”

Read more about our work with schools across Elmbridge – including our Opportunities Funding for local schools here

Volunteers are the driving force behind our local foodbanks and our new community space, The Bridge. We spoke to Rebecca, a regular volunteer at The Bridge, about her experience of volunteering in our local community.

Q. What inspired you to volunteer at The Bridge?

A couple of years ago, my friend volunteered for the Walton & Hersham Foodbank when he was made redundant from his job, and he told me about all the positive things they are doing. It made me want to get involved.

I am passionate about helping at The Bridge. We get a lot of young families referred to us so, as a mum, it’s lovely to share parenting tips with each other. I also feel like The Bridge gives families more choice and control during, what can be, a difficult time.

Q. Why do you make time to volunteer?

I am currently on a sabbatical from work. I’ve taken a break from a stressful job in London to spend more time with my family. During that time, I wanted to give some structure and meaning to my time off and I also want to give back to my local community.

While I’m primarily based at The Bridge, I also help the Walton & Hersham Foodbank at St. Johns Church when they need extra help.

Q. Tell me more about the people you meet while volunteering

Mostly our clients want a safe and confidential space to talk to someone about the issues they are facing. More and more people who never thought they would need to use a foodbank are finding themselves relying on one. Many people and families rely entirely on the food they collect and cannot afford to top it up with anything else.

Q. What about the families you meet at The Bridge?

The cost-of-living crisis has hit everyone and some people that would otherwise never have turned to a charity for help are being referred to us. For example, some of our clients are self-employed and some are on maternity leave. Without a regular income, they can’t afford to buy food.

Some of the people who come here are working long hours in professional roles and are taking on more hours to earn money, but their wages still don’t cover the bills coming in.

We often see families with older children who can’t afford to move out, so in effect they have six adults in the house to feed. One client said, “I’ve worked all my life and never thought I would be in this position”.

We are here to provide a listening ear and practical support for everyone who is referred to us. It’s lovely to see some of the parents attend yoga sessions that we now offer at The Bridge. It’s a chance for them to take time out and relax. Our lovely yoga teacher, Hanna, volunteers so it’s free of charge.

Q. How does The Bridge work?

Families are referred to us by local organisations and we commit to supporting them for a period of 12 weeks. During that time, they can come to The Bridge on a fortnightly basis for food and other support. By the end of the 12-weeks we hope they feel confident knowing who to go to for specialist support (eg, debt advice) and feel ready to take the next steps towards getting back on their feet. Organisations like Citizens Advice, Lifelong Learning and Spurgeons also hold regular support sessions at The Bridge which is really helpful.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering at the foodbank or The Bridge, please email Walton & Hersham Foodbank info@waltonhersham.foodbank.org.uk.

We know that education is an important route out of poverty, but often children in low-income families face extra challenges reaching their potential at school. Last year, we awarded £47,000 in community grants to support disadvantaged pupils across Elmbridge to access catch up programmes and support with their emotional and mental health.

One grant, to Three Rivers Academy, will fund construction skills training for students that will help to engage them not only in these specific activities, but their other curriculum subjects. The grant, of just over £9,000, will enable SATRO to work with 10 students on a weekly basis for a year. Students participating will also been entered for accredited qualifications at the end of their Year 10 and Year 11 courses.

SATRO’s tutors have experience in both the construction industry and education, and are keen to inspire a new generation to enter the construction industry. Their mobile classroom brings all the tools, equipment and materials needed for each session. Students will also be able to attend SATRO’s newly launched Construction Festival which will give them an insight into careers in the industry.

“Oli has successfully gained an electrical apprenticeship to start in September. They were particularly impressed when he shared his SATRO portfolio of work at interview as they don’t usually recruit at his age.”

Read more about our work with schools across Elmbridge – including our Opportunities Funding for local schools here.

At Walton Charity we believe in making our land and green spaces available for local people and community groups to enjoy.

Our community allotment on Terrace Road, Walton, welcomes children from local schools to come along and learn more about nature, growing and where our food comes from. Monkey Puzzle Nursery and Pre-School are the newest group to join these outdoor classroom sessions.

The nursery has started a programme of weekly sessions, giving pre-schoolers the opportunity to experience and enjoy being outdoors. Through exploration and discovery, they learn about nature and the need to protect and respect it. On World Kindness Day the children each picked produce from the allotment and made a cake for their families.

The outdoor classroom sessions have been such a big hit that the nursery will be increasing the visits and our Green Spaces Manager, Karen, will be planning more interactive sessions for the children to enjoy.

We are also pleased that Monkey Puzzle have pledged to support our Stripey Stork Christmas Appeal, ensuring more children across Elmbridge have the Christmas they deserve.

To find out more about getting involved in our community allotment contact Karen (greenspaces@waltoncharity.org.uk).

Living in an almshouse can boost the longevity of its residents by as much as two-and-a-half years compared to their counterparts in the general population, according to a new Bayes Business School report.

Analysing up to 100 years’ worth of resident records from various almshouses in England, the research suggests that living in these communities can reduce the negative impact on health and social wellbeing, particularly for those who are living in isolation.

The results show that, for several of the almshouses included in the study, residents can expect to live as long as wealthier members of the general population despite coming from the most deprived quintile.

Walton Charity has two almshouses in Elmbridge - Mayfield and Fenner House - both offering accommodation for people aged over 55s. Fenner House celebrates its 40 year anniversary this year and many of their residents are testament to the findings of this report.

Doreen Hardwick, who is 91 years of age and a resident of Fenner House, describes herself as a Londoner but after many years living in a cold flat in Sutton, her son urged her to move near to his home in Walton on Thames. Being closer to her son, two grandchildren and four great grandchildren, she has never looked back. She says she is extremely happy at Fenner House, describing her flat as cozy and warm and the staff as excellent. Doreen is hard to catch indoors though, as she’s usually out and about catching a bus to Kingston or Brooklands to do her shopping or meeting up with her family.

Walton Charity believes that everyone should have a safe, comfortable place to live, and we work with local partners to help achieve this. A community grant of £15,000 to the Molesey Churches Night Shelter helped to fund emergency accommodation for homeless people in Elmbridge over the winter months.    

The shelter, at St Peters Church Youth and Community Hub in West Molesey, opened at the beginning of December 2022 and stayed open every night until the end of March 2023. As well as a warm place to sleep, it offered a first step to finding permanent housing solutions for the 15 guests who attended over the four-month period.  

Supported by the night shelter manager, Amy Burton, Rentstart’s Bridge the Gap initiative and a team of volunteers, night shelter guests could start to rebuild their lives and begin the process of moving into permanent accommodation.   

“The night shelter saved my life. I've been on the streets for 30+ years and if it wasn't for one of the staff members there, continually supporting me, I would still be on the streets. She never gave up on me and showed me how important it was for my health to give up street life and take up a permanent home. She continues to support me as my Bridge the Gap worker. She is my guardian angel".”

Dave, night shelter guest

* Bridge the Gap is a pilot programme in partnership with Surrey County Council supporting adults experiencing multiple disadvantages, including homelessness, substance use, domestic abuse, mental health issues and contact with the criminal justice system. 

Yassin, a student at Three Rivers Academy, joined the Walton Charity team for a week of work experience.

Students from the Academy were offered placements at a variety of workplaces and we were delighted that Yassin chose to join us to learn about the varied roles within our multi-faceted charity.

We asked Yassin to reflect on the week and tell us about his experience.

Why did you choose to do your work experience with Walton Charity?

I chose the charity because I like helping people.

When I’ve finished school, ideally, I would like to work in construction and own my own company like my grandfather did back in Poland. That’s my dream.

You’ve covered a variety of roles within the charity. Tell us what you did.

My first day was spent meeting Rob Mills, Chief Executive, and learning more about the work of the charity in the local community. I also attended meetings and spent time looking at the Charity’s social media posts.

On Tuesday, I was down at the community allotment in Terrace Road, Walton.

Wednesday was spent sorting food at the Walton & Hersham Foodbank’s warehouse in the morning and in the afternoon, I worked with the Communications team. They are planning a children’s book hunt during the summer holidays, hiding 100 books around Elmbridge for children and young people to find. The themes of the books are around the five key issues that Walton Charity focuses on. I spent some time prepping the books for the hunt and helping the team with some branding and research tasks.

I went to The Bridge on Thursday. This is the charity’s newest project, which is based in Bridge Street, Walton. It’s a community space which offers support for families who are struggling with the rising cost of living. I helped the volunteers by stocking the shelves and I met three families who had been referred to The Bridge.

It really opened my eyes. I just didn’t realise there are pockets all around me where people are really struggling, it should be brought to the attention of the public more.

On Friday, I was based at Mayfield where the maintenance team has a workshop. The team showed me around their workshop and showed me how the tools work. I made some shelves and shelving supports for the shed at the community allotment. They were a great team to work with.

I also helped to organise a tea party for the residents of Mayfield and I got to chat with them. There were about 10-15 of them and all were lovely. They have a piano in their lounge, so I played some music, which they seemed to really enjoy.

Which roles did you particularly enjoy?

I enjoyed my day helping at the community allotment and working with the maintenance team at Mayfield. Both were good as they involved working with my hands.

Any final thoughts on your work experience week?

I thoroughly enjoyed it and if I could do it again, I would. I would recommend Walton Charity to other Three Rivers students.

It was lovely to have Yassin join us at the community allotment. He joined in, chatting and supporting our participants, as well as taking on some projects himself. He helped to create a new pathway and fix climbing supports for two new creepers. A great addition to the team for the day!

Karen Heynike, Walton Charity Green Spaces Manager

If your company is interested in helping local students to learn about career options, please contact Three Rivers Academy.