Minstead Trust 2022 wrap up
6th January 2023
Happy new year!
Thank you so much for supporting Minstead Trust. We wanted to send you a rundown of what we were up to in 2022 and how your support has changed the lives of many and enabled us to expand beyond our expectations.
From expanding our businesses, to burying a tiny time capsule, to showcasing talented people, we’ve been busy this year, and we couldn’t have done any of it without you.
Here are some of the people you’ve supported in 2022…
Richard
Richard focused on his acting in 2022. Your support has enabled Richard and people like him to participate in a community theatre group at Hanger Farm Arts Centre, and to perform their material for an audience.
Matthew
Matthew’s love of steam developed much more over the past year. He has been able to use a real miniature steam engine to learn more about how the engine works, and let his passion grow.
Kevin
Kevin was recognised this year for his commitment to the National Trust. He received a certificate and badge for 25 years of voluntary service. Well done, Kevin!
Josh
Josh has come a long way in his work life, having started a chef apprenticeship programme at Minstead Lodge. He’s been preparing food and learning vital cooking skills.
Luci
Luci started an apprenticeship programme at Lily&Lime café in Portsmouth. She has gone above and beyond to support other trainees by helping them to develop their skills in the kitchen.
Louisa
Louisa is the main baker at Lily&Lime, and also on the apprenticeship programme. She teaches new bakers how to produce cakes as popular and tasty as hers.
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Our Big Give campaigners
People like Josh and Rachel were the driving force behind one of our biggest fundraising missions this year…
And we were overwhelmed by the response to the campaign. We raised over £60,000 to support people with learning disabilities to be seen and heard by society. Thank you so much to everyone who donated and shared the campaign. Money raised will fund new projects to enable people to have their voice and live the life they choose.
Josh is a talented artist. Thanks to your donations to the Big Give, people like Josh will have their art and passions seen by more people.
Rachel manages a café on her own. The Big Give will help others like her to gain more independence and to be appreciated for the merits they bring to society.
Showcasing talent and development
In November, we saw a packed out theatre space at Hanger Farm Arts Centre, full of family, friends and Trust supporters. They were all there to celebrate the achievements of people we support, and to watch a superb performance from the Hanger Farm Community Theatre. Find out about the award winners from the day:
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Volunteer stories
We had many superstar volunteers helping us in 2022. Volunteers help to deliver some of our key services, including a lot of the day to day running of Hanger Farm Arts Centre and Furzey Gardens. Find out about just a couple of the many volunteers who we are lucky to have on board:
Roger and Anita Smith are volunteers at Hanger Farm Arts Centre. ‘We have always been made to feel so welcome and all the volunteers are valued by the staff.’
Jonathan Parsons volunteers in the woodworking workshop at Minstead Lodge’s day opportunities. ‘I never fail to be amazed at the gratitude I receive from everyone for my help as a volunteer’.
Find out how you could volunteer for us in 2023
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Businesses giving back
Here’s a wholesome snap of the Zurich team completing our Furzey Gardens centenary walk this year!
Thank you to Zurich and the other amazing supportive businesses in our business club, including Fiander Tovell and Allianz. They’ve gone above and beyond by supporting the Trust in a number of ways. From sponsoring our raffles, to taking part in sponsored activities, we’ve been blown away by how giving businesses can be.
And we’re also grateful to The Christos Lazari Foundation, a family run foundation who have supported us this year.
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This year’s fundraising champions
Our fundraisers have stepped up this year. We’ve seen weddings, marathons and much more. Find out who some of our fundraising champions are this year:
Congratulations to the happy couple, Will and Simona! And thank you to them and their guests, who chose to donate to Minstead Trust in lieu of wedding gifts. We are truly thankful and wish the lovely couple all the best in their lives together.
Our Romsey Relay team raced to the finish in May, and raised their target of £150 in support of the Trust. Thank you, team Minstead!
And another running story from Hugo! He not only ran the ABP marathon in April but he also completed the New Forest marathon in September! He raised a staggering £1,725. Well done Hugo, and thank you so much for raising an incredible amount.
We are really grateful to everyone that has fundraised for us this year, we’ve only mentioned a few, but there are many others, you know who you are, thank you.
We are really grateful too, for the support shown to us by local community groups such as Rotary, Freemasons, local clubs and societies, for choosing to support us with donations and collections.
Find out how you can fundraise for us in 2023.
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Events by and for people with learning disabilities
We’ve hosted fetes in Portsmouth, fayres and increasingly popular murder mystery events this year, and we’ve been overjoyed with the feedback and turnout. Having come out of a pandemic, it is joyous for the people we support as well as our staff to have events to attend. We love bringing people together, and it’s been lovely to see new and old faces throughout the year. Thank you to our event and raffle sponsors including Life Care Residencies, Holistic Hideaway, The Naked Pantry, JPW Wills, Northwood Ltd and Knightsure Insurance Brokers.
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We’ve expanded beyond our expectations
We made a series of big changes and announcements this year which have led to more opportunities for us to support people with learning disabilities. Here are some of the big changes from the year:
We are now proud owners of a fantastic social enterprise called The Real Jam & Chutney Company. We’re now busy learning the art of jam and chutney and we have big plans for the business in 2023, so watch this space!
We teamed up with a local community pharmacy in Portsmouth to promote Lily&Lime, one of our social enterprises. Lalys Pharmacy have welcomed us with open arms in 2022, and given people like Rachel the opportunity to live a more independent life.
A new footbridge has been opened at Furzey Gardens to mark the garden’s centenary year. The timber-framed bridge takes visitors along a path through a newly-sown wildflower meadow at the bottom of the garden and is a new area for them to explore. Come along in the new year to see it for yourself if you haven’t already! Thank you to Ramboll for designing, constructing and supporting this project.
There still remains huge inequality in the world of employment, with just 5% of people with learning disabilities in paid work. In an effort to address the situation, we produced a prospectus and video of training and work experience opportunities for people with learning disabilities. Find out more about our work and training opportunities.
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Celebrating Furzey Gardens’ centenary year
To mark Furzey Gardens’ centenary year, we saw many people show their support for the gardens. Whether you bought a raffle ticket, sponsored an oak tree sapling or sent us a special year memory, thank you. We are overwhelmed and so grateful to everyone who showed their support for the beautiful gardens.
And to round it all up, in December, we introduced a new kind of richness to Furzey Gardens’ soil in the form of a tiny time capsule.
It has been buried to mark the end of the garden’s centenary year, and to serve as a reminder to the future of how special this place truly is.