A COMMUNITY group that aims to bring people together working on projects which will improve their wellbeing has been granted charitable status.

The Highworth Community Shed team is now able to apply for grant funding and reclaim taxes on donations through gift aid.

The group is affiliated to the UK Men’s Shed, but membership is open to everyone aged 18 and over. The shed itself is somewhere where members can pursue practical hobbies at leisure and enjoy making and mending.

The charity’s vision is to achieve a closer, stronger community in Highworth which is free of loneliness, isolation, and where those needing support with their mental health can be signposted to support.

Chairman Adrian Young said: "We’re delighted all the hard work for the last three years has resulted in our achieving charitable status. It’s been a long time and a lot of hard work over the in the background to get to this stage.”

The Charity Commission granted Highworth Community Shed permission to become a registered charity, number 1200839. 

Secretary Chris Kent added: “I’m over the moon we’ve managed to get this initiative to charitable status. This opens up a lot of doors for us to obtain a greater reach and enable us to start looking at ways of getting people to the shed.”

To boost fundraising efforts, the group has become a member of the national charity and online fundraising platform Local Giving. Supporters can donate either directly to the charity or help with one of their projects.

The first project is a start-up appeal to equip the new shed with enough equipment to welcome members. The plan is to open in January.

All donations via Local Giving can also have gift aid added, which provides even more funding for the good cause.

The charity’s membership continues to grow and anyone wanting to join can email highworthshed@outlook.com

Details of how to support the start-up project can be found at https://localgiving.org/appeal/HCS-start-up/

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