SCOUTS from the 1st Henley and Wootton Group have scooped £5,000 after being named one of this year’s winners in the Calor Rural Community Fund.
The windfall comes from a fund which provides grants to off-grid rural causes, and will go towards rebuilding their scout hut and making it a safe space for the group and future generations of local children to use.
The 1st Henley and Wootton Scouts Group was one of 22 winners to benefit from the donation which was part of an £85,000 funding pot from Calor.
Their current hut needs to be demolished and the grant will go towards rebuilding it from scratch and fitting it out with a kitchen and toilets.
Once complete, the hut will be used for activity days, sleepovers and the space will also be used by other youth groups in the area as well.
Since its creation back in 2017, Calor has helped secure £460,000 for causes across the UK through crowdfunded donations and Calor contributions.
This year, thanks to Calor’s partnership with fundraising platform Crowdfunder, more than £100,000 has been raised through public donations alone.
Scout leader Jo Garstang said: “This grant of £5,000 from Calor is going to make a huge difference to our project and we’re thrilled to be a Calor Rural Community Fund Winner.
“Through Calor’s partnership with fundraising platform Crowdfunder, we’ve also been able to raise more than £13,000 which will be used to help us install a kitchen and toilets inside our new hut.
“This will give our scout group a permanent home, which we can use for evening meetings and overnight camp outs, meaning scouting can continue in our village for years to come.”
