The People’s Choice Award 2024

Voting for the 2024 People’s Choice Awards is now open!

Each year we welcome supporters from across the county to our Annual Reception, to celebrate the work of the not-for-profit organisations, charities and community groups we’ve funded throughout the year.

At the event we award a local community group or charity with The People’s Choice Award and £1,000 prize funding.

The winner of The People’s Choice Award is a group whose work in the community and impact on the local area has made Buckinghamshire a better place to live. 

Vote for The People’s Choice Award 2024

Meet our shortlisted charities and community groups and decide who you think deserves to win.

The nominees are:

Aylesbury Hindu Temple Trust – Holi Spring Festival of Colours

A grant from Heart of Bucks enabled Aylesbury Hindu Temple Trust to deliver their “Holi – Spring Festival of Colours” event together with the wider community. The festival was a jubilant occasion that saw people who attended cover each other in rainbow-hued powder to commemorate the beginning of spring. This event played a crucial role in bringing communities together and helped in fostering mutual understanding, respect, and appreciation among different communities.

Caribbean Community Lunch Club – ‘Knowledge is Power’ health and wellbeing campaign

The club used funding to host a series of health empowerment workshops which have helped members to improve their mental wellbeing in addition to offering support, information, health checks, various health and wellbeing activities, and a social space each week. Funding was also used to provide training opportunities for young people, including administrative skills and video recording.

Earthwatch Europe – 10 tiny forests in Buckinghamshire

The group will be creating small, tennis-court sized Tiny Forests in Buckinghamshire’s most deprived wards. These wards have been identified through the council’s Opportunity Bucks programme which aims to improve opportunities for people and improve local areas. Tiny Forests provide a much-needed, high-quality green space that is good for the environment and wellbeing. Tiny Forests are maintained by a community team of volunteer Tree Keepers. Funding from Heart of Bucks has specifically contributed towards training local volunteers and providing ongoing support for the communities.

Southcourt Baptist Church – Community Boxing Club

Thanks to a grant from Heart of Bucks, Southcourt Baptist Church were able to send students from the Southcourt Boxing Club on a level one England boxing coaching course. This helped the boxing club gain more trained members but also gave them a qualification to add to their CV. The funding was also used for running costs of the boxing club, such as room hire.

Wednesday Club Waddesdon – Running costs for Wednesday Club

With a grant from Heart of Bucks, Wednesday Club Waddesdon were able to successfully recruit and train 14 DBS-cleared volunteers. This enabled them to provide crucial support to older individuals with diverse needs who attended the Wednesday Club. Funding also helped with the establishment of befriending services on alternate days, providing older individuals with opportunities to forge meaningful connections and alleviate loneliness through regular social interactions.

Women’s Cultural Arena – ‘Mindfulness in a green space’ project

This funding was used to continue Women’s Cultural Arena’s Green Space Initiative. Using the funding they were able to continue with community allotment sessions and reach out to members for new greener ideas which were then implemented, such as developing a pond, planting seasonal bulbs, and creating herb corners. They also ran the Allotment Growers Breakfast Club every Saturday at Oakridge Baptist Church which included discussion on green issues.

Vote here – remember you only get one vote so use it wisely!

The People’s Choice Award is kindly sponsored by ASM Auto Recycling.