In April 2019, we were lucky enough to be one of the five finalists of the National Lottery Community Fund's People's Projects competition. As a charity supported by the National Lottery, we were invited to apply for a larger grant from the fund and following our application, were shortlisted to one of five finalists in our ITV region.
ITV visited the Sanctuary and made a short promotional video that was aired on local news and then a voting process opened! The three winning projects were to receive a larger grant to allow them to expand their charity. After a hectic few weeks canvassing votes, we were thrilled to learn that we were one of the winning projects.
We had applied for a grant to fund some more courses of our Chance2Be project, but also to contribute to the purchase of a minibus. We have long wished to expand our reach into our community - for those of you who know us, you will know that we are a little off the beaten track and without private transport, we are difficult to get to. The arrival of our minibus means that we can offer to collect and bring community groups to the Sanctuary that do not have their own means of reaching us and thus will make us more accessible to many more people.
We were then delighted when the Purple Poppy Appeal also contributed to the purchase which turned our dream into a reality!
Our new vehicle arrived and we asked a long-time supporter of the charity, Anne Milton MP, to formally present the minbus to the Sanctuary. Anne has always championed local charities and had been among the first to congratulate us on our achievements - it therefore felt very fitting for her to be a part of this exciting moment for Mane Chance. Anne cut the ribbon and handed the keys to Jenny, with our team, visitors from the Queen Elizabeth Park Care home and our horses Gwen and Minnie looking on!
We look forward to putting the minibus to good use - and if you see us around Compton, please give us a wave!
Why not come and join our wonderful team of volunteers?
We can offer a range of opportunities for groups of young volunteers.
Come and be a groom for the day for our smallest residents.
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