“By using our charitable giving within Gloucestershire Community Foundation we aim to help local people realise their dreams.” Stephen Hitchins, The Hitchins Family Trust.

The Hitchins Family Trust was set up by Jonathan, Stephen and Tania Hitchins (pictured) to help overcome disadvantages and support those in the community in need.  This is a very wide brief and as such, this fund helps many different community groups in the county, supporting very diverse needs and activities.

The fund has supported groups who bring families together, helped purchase equipment (including a new minibus for The Shrubberies School), encourage people of all ages to take up physical activity, supporting new initiatives for treating diseases such as dementia and helping new community initiatives start-up and become established.  The Hitchins Family Trust fund also supports several young adult groups and projects specifically dedicated to helping young unemployed people build confidence, self-esteem and learn new skills to find employment.

Projects and organisations that the Hitchins Family Trust have supported recently include:

• IT Schools Africa – to improve the lives of digitally disengaged people in Gloucestershire, giving them access and the ability to effectively use digital technology through the TECH Connect Programme
• Rose Theatre – towards the Stitchstory project which, in partnership with many other organisations and groups working in Tewkesbury, aims to engage 15,000 Tewkesbury residents in creating a celebration of the town’s community and heritage by sewing a stitch and telling a story to create a community tapestry
• Homestart Cotswolds – to provide weekly support in the home for families who are experiencing challenges related to mental health, physical health, illness or disability.
• Strike-A-Light – supporting local people to lead three creative projects responding to the needs of their community, particularly Gloucester’s Black African, Caribbean, South Asian and Muslim communities.
• Friendship Cafe – funding a new chicken house along with other projects in the local community
• Read With Me – towards the training of 100 volunteers to provide one-to-one reading support for 1,000 Gloucestershire children
• Allsorts – towards the activity hub – a hive of messy, sensory, music and stimulating activities, that can be adapted to meet any disabled child’s needs.

The Hitchins Family Trust support projects via our Main Grants Programme

If you have been supported by the Hitchins Family Trust and wish to download their logo to use in promoting their grant, you can download it here