Beneficiaries
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Beneficiaries ⚑
Beneficiaries
Sponsors and Supporters of the 2025 Fair
The Committee would like to thank the following for their financial support:
Beneficiaries
of the 2025 Fair
Are you a children's charity or a voluntary community group that helps and supports children and young people? Are you based in Dorset or Somerset?
Would you like to be considered as a beneficiary seeking funds for a specific project or an individual in particular need? If so, please apply by the end of January to be considered for the current year.
In 2025 the Committee of the Sherborne Castle Country Fair were very pleased to help the charities and organisations listed below:
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Based in Weymouth, AStars is a volunteer-led, weekly support group and youth club for the families of children on the Autistic Spectrum. The club has been running for more than 17 years and has supported more than 250 families during that time. They also organise Autism-friendly events and subsidised trips that might not have been affordable or possible for their families under different circumstances.
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Dorset Mind provides early intervention to prevent development of long-term adult mental health conditions and the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences.
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On a farm near Sherborne, Future Roots use farming and the countryside to help young people to make progress in their education and their lives. They work with young people at risk of exclusion from school, children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as families in crisis. Over 100 young people visit the farm every week where they learn new skills, develop personal qualities by caring for animals, growing plants and learning rural crafts.
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Life Education delivers health promotion and drug prevention education to children between the ages of 3-11. They help schools and their staff, in Dorset and Somerset, to prepare their pupils for the pressures facing them as they leave their smaller primary schools and move into senior schools for the next stage of their education and face increasing temptations which could harm their health and wellbeing. Early intervention is the key to raising the next generation to be healthy, safe and happy. They deliver their service via their purpose-built mobile classrooms staffed by their specially trained Educators.
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The Sea Cadets introduces young people to the maritime world through Unit-based activities on and off the water. It teaches youngsters (often from very poor or under-privileged backgrounds) life skills, gives them self-confidence and most importantly experience of working as part of a team in a challenging but exciting environment. In Somerset and Dorset some 400 cadets are managed through 10 Units run and supported by volunteer staff.
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A Dorset-based charity offering support to children and young people who have suffered a bereavement, also for those young people facing the death of a loved one. They do this by offering individual counselling therapy support, residential weekends, activity days and social events. They also offer training and support for schools and agencies working with children. Having an array of support available to children who need it after losing a loved one is important and allows them to find their own way to grieve. Mosaic is the only charity in Dorset working with young people whatever the cause of death.
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PROMISEworks provides inspirational and intensive one-to-one mentoring of disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young adults who are on the edge of care or who have just left the care system. Experience has shown that these children/young adults are equally as vulnerable as children in care because they either live in dysfunctional families or are on their own having been in care. These young people fall outside the area of statutory responsibility of Somerset County Council. The mentors are all volunteers who undergo focused training and are supported by paid professionals.
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At Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) the horses and ponies benefit the lives of disabled children and young people by providing therapy, fitness, skills development and opportunities for achievement. RDA is an inclusive and diverse organisation which welcomes individuals with physical and learning disabilities and autism.
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The community centre at Tinney's Lane, Sherborne, is the home of Tinney's Youth Club. It is currently running at a record membership with 50-60 attending each junior session and 30-40 each senior session on Mondays. The Wednesday sessions are also seeing record attendances. Extra activities are therefore needed: the "Focus on Youth" week in early-August, the "Focus on Youth" blocks of special activities which are run as part of the weekly Youth Club sessions, and funding to improve the outside multi-games area.
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The charity provides immediate practical and emotional support. 100 families with children with visual impairment use their services so that the children can do fun activities together and benefit from sharing experiences whilst their parents learn that there are many careers available and technology to make life easier. Activities enable children to build skills and confidence and to build a support network to enable them to thrive.
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StreetLight is a community project set up to support the local community. They run an indoor skate park, soft play centre and café which provides a local facility that previously did not exist. They offer free scooter/skateboard hire and helmets to all those who come to StreetLight. This gives those who can't afford it or families on low income the chance to experience fun activities for free.
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The Rendezvous provides targeted services for young people who would otherwise fall through the cracks. They provide one to one support to improve mental health and wellbeing, English and Maths tuition leading to Level 2 nationally accredited English and Maths qualifications, engagement projects including outreach sessions in Sherborne and Gillingham, a Friday cooking project and group work for those struggling witih anxiety. If they are a young parent they can take part in group sessions or have home visits and advice appointments to resolve housing and benefits. The Rendezvous works closely with schools, GP surgeries, social care and increasingly parents who are often desperate to find support for their children.
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Music therapy is provided to children aged 5 years and under with a range of sensory-motor and neurodevelopment problems. The children have significant difficulties with communication and may have autism or physical disabilities. It offers opportunities for interaction, self-expression and skills development regardless of illness, injury or disability. The therapy has been ongoing for many years, one day a week at the Child Development Centre at Poole Hospital. Parents are present to learn the skills to continue the therapy at home.
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YOG is a specialist pre-school and centre of early intervention for children with complex special needs. Many children come to the Group with a range of needs including being unable to communicate verbally, blindness, hearing loss, physical disabilities, high medical needs and genetic disorders. Equally important is the support that is offered to parents and carers. Its Rainbows group is for parents of newly diagnosed children with complex needs. The children come from a wide area, including Sherborne and Dorset and YOG attempts to support accessing the group by funding transport themselves when parents are unable to provide it.
Interested in being a beneficiary of
the Fair?
Are you a children's charity or a voluntary community group that helps and supports children and young people? Are you based in Dorset or Somerset? Would you like to apply for funds for a specific project or an individual in particular need?