Western Gazette 13 October 2005

BREWERY CASH BOOST GIVES BAKERS GOOD CAUSE TO CELEBRATE

ORGANISERS of a popular fund-raising event in Holwell have been awarded a £500 grant to help them continue their good work.

The cake and biscuit makers at Honeybuns have been hosting an annual festival of locally-produced foods and crafts - the Bee Hop - for the past three years and donating much of the proceeds to local charities.

But staff became frustrated at having to spend a large chunk of the proceeds on marquee hire and decided to purchase their own.

Unfortunately the group lacked its own funds to pay for the facility, but determined not to give in, applied to a local community chest.

Staff were delighted when they received the news from Blandford brewery Hall and Woodhouse, which offers grants to community groups from its community chest in partnership with the Community Foundation for Bournemouth , Dorset and Poole , that their bid had been successful.

Emma Goss-Custard, the owner of Honeybuns, said her team had been overwhelmed to receive the grant at the awards ceremony at the brewery's Blandford headquarters last Saturday.

"We are all absolutely chuffed," she said.

"The Bee Hop only started as a bit of fun to get local people involved with what we were doing here but it's really taken off and having this new marquee will really help.

"We're not really sure what we can get with our money yet but we're looking at second-hand scout tents."

She said the new tent would be painted with the Hall and Woodhouse logo to honour the benefactors, and would be used to house the real ale stall or the bands who help entertain guests at the Bee Hop event, depending on the new tent's size.

Mark Woodhouse of Hall and Woodhouse said: "This was the fourth year of the Community Chest and it just seems to go from strength to strength. We have had even more applications for even more money this year and it has been a real pleasure to support such a wide variety of excellent local community projects. It's not all about money though, we have got six teams of employees lined up to carry out up to 400 hours of practical work in the community. The Community Chest is all about improving the lives of local residents."

In the past, the event has raised money for local charities such as Julia’s House Hospice in Corfe Mullen, Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue, and last year the event raised more than £1,000 for the Holwell Church Restoration Fund.

The next Bee Hop will be held at Naish Farm, Holwell on Saturday 1 July 2006 from 11am to 5pm.